(METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 
TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

Evelyn  Dewey 

Emily  Child 

BeardsleyRuml 


LIBRARY 

ui^EitiiTY  or 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 
TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 
TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

MANUAL  OF  TESTS 

USED  BY  THE  PSYCHOLOGICAL  SURVEY  IN 
THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY 

INCLUDING   SOCIAL  AND    PHYSICAL 
STUDIES  OF  THE  CHILDREN  TESTED 

BY 

EVELYN  DEWEY 
EMILY  CHILD 
BEARDSLEY  RUML 


ERRATA 

Make  the  following  corrections  before  using  the  tables. 

Page    77.  Table  1.     Girls,  Age  9,  S.D.:     Read  .101  for  IM. 

80.  Table  8.     Boys,  Regression  equation:     Read  +  for  ±. 

87.  Table  32.     Boys,  Age  11:     Read  ±.11  for  ±  H. 

92.  Table  41.     Boys,  Age  13:     Read  ±.50 /or  -±m. 

95.  For  Problem  B  read  Problem  Box. 

110.  For  Balland  Field  read  Ball  and  Field. 

117.  Maturity  Scale,  Boys,  To:     Read  -.021  for  +.021. 

117.  .Maturity  Scale,  Boys,  T7:     Read  +.115  for  +.002. 


NEW  YORK 
E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 

681  Fifth  Avenue 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 
TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDEEN 

MANUAL  OF  TESTS 

USED  BY  THE  PSYCHOLOGICAL  SURVEY  IN 
THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY 

INCLUDING   SOCIAL  AND    PHYSICAL 
STUDIES  OF  THE  CHILDREN  TESTED 

BY 

EVELYN  DEWEY 
EMILY  CHILD 
BEARDSLEY  RUML 


NEW  YORK 

E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 

681  Fifth  Avenue 


Copyright,  1920 
By  E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 


AU  Rights  Reserved 


REPL\CIKG 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


The  idea  of  this  survey  was  conceived  by  Lucy  Sprague 
Mitchell  who  has  given  her  constant  cooperation  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  plan.  We  are  indebted  also  to  William  E. 
Grady,  through  whose  efforts  the  Psychological  Survey  was 
granted  permission  by  the  Board  of  Education  to  work  in 
the  New  York  Public  Schools,  to  Margaret  E.  Knox  for  her 
active  cooperation  through  two  years  of  testing  in  her 
school,  to  Eleanor  Hope  Johnson  for  her  services  as  secre- 
tary and  business  manager  and  to  the  principals  and 
teachers  of  the  schools  in  which  we  worked  for  their  courtesy 
and  helpful  assistance. 


m8'70G43 


CONTENTS 


PART  I 
MENTAL  TESTS 

CHAPTER  I 

FAOB 

Problems  and  Methods 3 

CHAPTER  II 

General  Procedure 12 

Selection  op  Subjects 12 

Selection  of  Tests 15 

Testing  Procedure 18 

CHAPTER  III 

Instructions  for  Giving  and  Scoring  the  Tests 20 

Cart  Construction 21 

Narrative  Pictures 23 

Identification  of  Forms 30 

Instruction  Box 31 

Needle  Threading 35 

Nail  Driving 35 

Problem  Box 38 

Picture  Completion 39 

Memory  for  Objects 42 

Knox  Cubes 44 

Healy  Construction  Puzzle  "  A  " 45 

Healy  Construction  Puz?.le  "  B  " 48 

Card  Sorting 51 

Cancellation     .       .    ' 53 

Substitution 56 

Memory  for  Digits 58 

Steadiness  of  Motor  Control 60 

Strength  of  Grip 63 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

PAOB 

Ball  and  Field  Problem 6-i 

The  Binet-Simon  Scale 66 

The  Yerkes-Bridges  Point  Scale 71 

CHAPTER  IV 

Test  Norms 74 

Tables 77 

Distribution  Curves  for  Tests  with  Numerous  Failures  Due  to 

Time  Limit 95 

CHAPTER  V 
The  Matukitt  Scale 114 

CHAPTER  VI 

Sex  Differences 119 

Charts 121 

PART  II 

SOCIAL  STUDY 

Plan  of  Home  Investigation 136 

Tabulation  of  Social  Data  .       .       .       .      ' 141 

PART  III 

PHYSICAL  STUDY 

Plan  of  Physical  Examination 153 

Comment  upon  Physical  Data 157 

Norms  for  Physical  Measures 163 

APPENDIX 

References 173 

Formulae 173 

Instruction  for  Giving  and  Scoring  Yerkes  Tests 

Included  m  the  Maturity  Scale 174 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Figs.  1  and  2.    Cart  Construction  Test Facing  Page  21 

Fig.  3.  Cart  Model Facing  Page  23 

Fig.  4.  Narrative  Pictures Facing  Page  25 

Fig.  5.  Board  for  Identification  of  Forms Facing  Page  31 

Fig.  6.  Instruction  Box  Dimensions Page  32 

Fig.  7.  Instruction  Box Facing  Page  33 

Fig.  8.  Materials  for  Nail  Driving Facing  Page  36 

Fig.  9.  Problem  Box Facing  Page  38 

Fig.  10.  Ellis  Objects Facing  Page  43 

Fig.  11a.  Position  of  Pieces  for  Healy  "A" Page  46 

Fig.  lib.  Position  of  Pieces  for  Healy  "A" Page  47 

Fig.  12.  Position  of  Pieces  for  Healy  "B" Page  49 

Fig.  13.  Substitution  Key  Card Page  56 

Fig.  14.  Ball  and  Field  Evaluation  Types Page  65 


IX 


INTRODUCTION 


Permission  was  granted  to  the  Psychological  Survey  by 
the  Board  of  Education  to  conduct  an  investigation  in  the 
New  York  City  Public  Schools  in  February,  1915.  The 
inunediate  purpose  of  the  investigation  was  to  obtain  norms 
for  a  series  of  tests  for  New  York  public  school  children 
in  the  poorer  and  more  congested  portions  of  the  city,  as 
a  basis  for  further  study  of  the  value  of  mental  tests  for 
improved  school  room  procedure. 

It  was  hoped  that  the  results  would  justify  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  school  clinic  for  normal  children  to  assist 
the  teacher  in  meeting  the  problems  of  individual  pupils. 
Psychological  tests  had  been  used  as  the  basis  for  giving 
immediate  suggestions  to  the  teacher  for  the  treatment  of 
a  group  of  children  in  Public  School  15  who  had  been  un- 
able to  adjust  to  the  usual  class-room  procedure.  The  work 
led  to  the  belief  that  the  diagnosis  made  from  the  analysis 
of  a  reliable  series  of  tests  would  be  of  practical  value  to 
the  teacher  in  dealing  with  puzzling  children.  As  a  pre- 
liminary to  the  establishment  of  such  a  clinic  it  was  neces- 
sary to  develop  a  series  of  tests  which  would  be  applicable 
to  the  type  of  problems  presented  in  the  schools,  and  to 
obtain  nonns  for  large  groups  of  children. 

Helen  T.  Woolley  of  the  Bureau  of  Vocational  Guid- 
ance in  Cincinnati  spent  a  month  in  New  York  organizing 
the  staff  and  launching  the  work;  the  direction  was  then 
undertaken  by  Professor  J.  W.  Hayes,  at  that  time  assistant 
professor  of  psychology  in  the  University  of  Chicago.    Miss 


xii'  INTRODUCTION 

Evelyn  Dewey  has  directed  the  work  since  1918.  The  data 
for  the  social  and  physical  study  were  gathered  and  tab- 
ulated under  the  direction  of  Miss  Harriet  Forbes,  of  the 
Bureau  of  Educational  Experiments  of  New  York  City. 

The  staff  which  is  responsible  for  this  report  consists  of 
EveljTi  Dewey,  director;  Emily  Child  who  has  had  charge 
of  the  presentation  of  the  social  and  physical  material; 
Beardsley  Rmnl,  statistician;  Louise  Schriefer  and  Lois 
Treadwell  Euml,  assistant  statisticians. 

Others  who  have  served  upon  the  staff  at  various  times 
since  the  work  started  are:  Elizabeth  Irwin,  Harriet  M. 
Johnson,  Lucy  Sprague  Mitchell  and  Georgia  J.  Euger 
(testers) ;  Edith  Day  and  Helen  Gregory  (home  investiga- 
tors) ;  Dr.  H.  L.  Barnes  and  Dr.  Nancy  Jenison  (examining 
physicians) ;  Frederick  W.  Ellis  (special  study,  1917-18). 

This  volume  furnishes  a  guide  for  workers  who  may 
wish  to  use  the  methods  employed  here,  for  clinical  work 
or  for  further  investigation.  The  tests,  with  their  instruc- 
tions and  norms,  the  Maturity  Scale  with  an  explanation 
of  its  meaning  and  use,  and  a  summary  of  the  social  and 
physical  studies  are  presented.  A  further  publication  will 
deal  with  the  possibilities  of  interpreting  the  objective  data 
of  mental  tests.  An  analysis  will  be  made  of  relationships 
f omid  for  the  physical,  school  and  test  measures,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  practical  problems  presented  by  school 
children. 


PART  I 
MENTAL  TESTS 


CHAPTER  I 
PROBLEMS  AND  METHODS 

The  tests  used  in  this  investigation  and  the  methods 
employed  were  chosen  in  order  to  throAV  light  upon  some 
of  the  preliminary  problems  involved  in  the  establishment 
of  a  psychological  clinic  for  normal  children.  The  staff  was 
of  the  opinion  that  such  a  laboratory  could  not  be  of  general 
use  in  the  public  school  situation  mitil  information  about 
mental  tests  was  considerably  increased  by  research.  We 
wished  to  find  out  the  extent  to  which  objective  test  results 
can  be  of  help  in  the  analysis  and  improvement  of  the 
individual  child's  adjustment  to  school.  In  order  to  answer 
this  question,  investigation  along  two  lines  is  necessary. 
First,  tests  with  a  demonstrable  relevancy  to  the  problem 
must  be  assembled  into  a  working  unit  and  standardized. 
Second,  the  meaning  of  the  results  of  these  tests  must  be 
established  by  equally  objective  methods.  This  report 
presents  the  material  accumulated  in  the  course  of  the  in- 
vestigation, which  has  a  bearing  on  the  first  phase  of  the 
problem. 

We  believed  that  mental  tests  could  furnish  a  technique 
for  individual  analysis  which  would  throw  light  upon  the 
pupils'  adjustment  to  the  school  and  upon  the  adequacy  of 
school  measures  for  describing  the  child.  If  tests  are  to  be 
used  as  a  basis  for  making  changes  either  in  the  environ- 
ment of  the  individual  or  in  school  methods  it  is  imperative 
to  distinguish  between  two  methods  of  using  tests.  In  the 
clinic  which  is  directed  by  a  psj^chiatrist  or  a  psychologist 
with  a  strong  interest  in  the  problems  of  abnormal  psy- 

3 


4  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

chology,  mental  tests  have  come  to  be  used  as  a  guide  for 
the  examiner.  They  are  one  of  the  many  tools  which  he 
uses  in  his  observation  of  an  individual  for  the  detection 
of  abnormalities.  The  way  in  which  he  uses  tests  and  the 
interpretation  which  he  puts  upon  a  subject's  reactions  are 
largely  determined  by  his  particular  classification  of  psy- 
chological knowledge  and  his  point  of  view  on  psychiatrical 
problems.  ''This  method  throws  the  responsibility  for  the 
final  diagnosis  on  the  experimenter/'  *  It  is  the  method 
which  has  been  chiefly  used  in  the  past  even  in  clinics  with 
a  similar  aim  to  that  suggested  for  the  outcome  of  this 
investigation.  But  we  believe  that  if  such  clinics  are  ever 
to  become  general,  and  if  mental  tests  are  as  valuable  an 
instrument  as  seems  to  be  indicated  at  present,  their  use 
from  another  angle  must  be  developed.  We  wish  to  discover 
if  an  individual  analysis  can  be  made  hy  the  tests,  not  from 
them ;  an  analysis  which  is  definitely  the  outcome  of  purely 
objective  test  results. 

Therefore  the  methods  frequently  employed  in  clinical 
procedure  were  not  available  for  our  purpose.  Much  in- 
formation valuable  for  diagnosis  can  undoubtedly  be  ob- 
tained simply  by  observation  of  the  subject's  behavior  and 
method  of  attack  during  a  test,  but  a  large  part  of  it  is 
directly  dependent  on  the  judgment  and  skill  of  the  ex- 
aminer and  is  to  a  very  limited  extent  capable  of  actual 
practical  uniformity  of  procedure  from  examiner  to  ex~ 
aminer,  from  time  to  time,  and  from  one  situation  to  an. 
other.  Even  though  there  were  a  psychologist  dealing  with 
the  problem  of  the  sub-normal  and  mal-adjusted  children 
in  every  school  it  still  would  do  little  to  advance  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  use  and  value  of  tests  if  each  followed  his  own 
methods  and  altered  the  procedure  to  meet  every  shifting 
situation.  Instead,  what  is  needed  is  a  uniform  method  of 
administration,  so  that  the  results  can  be  considered  as  a 

*Brigham,  C.  C.  Two  Studies  in  Mental  Tests.  Psychol.  Mono.,  1917, 
xxiv,  No.  1. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  5 

measure  of  the  reaction  to  a  situation  which  can  be  relied 
upon  as  practically  constant.  By  a  rigid  adherence  to  this 
method  progress  will  be  made  in  discovering  what  mental 
tests  measure  and  to  what  extent  they  afford  a  safe  basis 
for  making  practical  suggestions  concerning  the  individual. 
Standardization  and  its  corollary,  quantitative  measures, 
were,  we  felt,  not  only  necessitated  by  the  practical  situation 
which  we  had  to  meet  but  were  in  themselves  the  most  fruit- 
ful line  of  investigation. 

Such  investigations  alone  will  determine  whether  mental 
tests  can  describe  and  analyze  an  individual  or  are  merely 
a  device  for  furnishing  the  expert  diagnostician  with  con- 
centrated material  for  observation.  Meanwhile  the  practical 
application  of  test  results  should  be  made  in  a  tentative 
spirit. 

Since  no  meanings  were  to  be  read  into  the  tests  which 
did  not  come  from  the  results,  the  data  had  to  be  in  such 
shape  as  to  lend  themselves  to  investigation.  The  tests  had 
to  be  arranged  to  measure,  in  numerical  form,  fine  differ- 
ences of  performance  between  normal  children  of  the  same 
age.  Before  the  meaning  of  these  measures  in  individual 
terms  could  be  investigated,  it  was  necessary  to  discover 
how  children  in  general  react  to  the  tests.  It  is  impossible 
to  say  that  a  pupil  differs  by  so  much  or  in  such  and  such 
particulars  from  his  fellows  until  we  know  in  terms  of  the 
test  series  what  an  average  pupil  is.  Therefore  the  test 
results  must  be  given  to  large  enough  groups  of  children  to 
insure  reliable  norms. 

But  if  we  are  to  be  consistent  in  our  point  of  view  that 
the  interpretative  machinery  is  within  the  test  we  are  not 
ready  to  make  a  practical  use  of  the  results  when  the  tests 
are  defined  and  norms  established.  The  significance  of  the 
results  for  the  problems  to  be  ultimately  attacked  must  still 
be  found  by  an  objective  method.  Since  there  has  never 
developed  a  satisfactory  criterion  of  what  degree  and  type 
of  adjustment  should  be  demanded  of  every  child,  or  of  just 


6  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

what  education  should  accomplish,  it  would  not  he  wise  to 
measure  the  test  results  hy  arbitrary  standards  for  these 
things.  Meanings  must  be  looked  for  by  checking  the  tests 
against  every  available  criterion  wliich  can  be  expressed 
in  sufficiently  simple  and  concrete  form  to  insure  general 
agreement  as  to  its  legitimacy.  This  study  of  relationships 
must  be  made  on  the  group  results  as  the  only  available 
method  of  insuring  both  the  general  relevancy  and  the  ob- 
jectivity of  the  conclusions.  When  the  definite  meaning 
of  the  results  has  been  established  by  the  test  relationships, 
it  is  time  to  draw  conclusions  as  to  the  practical  use  that 
can  be  made  of  the  tests.  Here  again  the  psychological  and 
social  point  of  view  of  the  worker  comes  into  prominence. 
The  significance  of  any  one  of  the  known  facts  about  a  test 
for  the  individual  problem  is  a  complex  affair  which  will 
be  somewhat  determined  by  the  personality,  experience  and 
interests  of  the  person  dealing  with  the  problem. 

In  assembling  the  tests  and  adopting  methods  for  their 
study  we  have  attempted  as  far  as  possible  to  keep  ourselves 
free  from  theories  and  preconceptions.  Our  aim  has  been 
to  gather  as  much  reliable  data  about  our  subjects  as  pos- 
sible and  then  to  study  their  interrelations  and  relevancy 
to  school  problems  with  the  best  methods  at  our  command. 

The  value  of  such  data,  however,  largely  depends  upon 
their  completeness.  It  would  not  be  safe  to  make  an  analysis 
of  an  individual's  reactions  to  a  series  of  test  situations  if 
the  external  factors  which  might  be  conditioning  these  reac- 
tions were  ignored.  In  working  with  a  maladjusted  school 
child,  it  is  obvious  that  home  conditions  and  physical  de- 
velopment are  forces  which  may  prove  of  equal  importance 
with  the  mental  constitution  of  the  child  in  explaining  his 
relations  to  the  school.  Therefore  a  social  and  physical 
measure  seemed  necessary.  We  believed  that  in  order  to 
develop  these  measures  an  exhaustive  description  of  the 
physical  development  and  condition  and  the  social  status  of 
the  children  was  needed.    The  conditions  imder  which  we 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  7 

were  working  seemed  to  offer  an  excellent  opportunity  to 
study  the  usefulness  of  such  exhaustive  descriptions. 

In  the  choice  of  tests  for  the  mental  examination  we 
kept  the  same  aim  in  mind,  that  of  obtaining  a  detailed 
picture.  In  attempting  to  do  this,  however,  we  felt  it  very 
undesirable  to  plan  our  outline  on  the  basis  of  a  precon- 
ceived belief  as  to  just  what  mental  processes,  in  conven- 
tional psychological  terms,  should  be  included  and  we 
avoided  any  implication  that  we  were  testing  precise  and 
exactly  delimited  mental  processes;  at  this  moment  ''mem- 
ory,'* at  another  ''attention/'  or  "constructiveness"  or 
*' visual  discrimination."  The  range  of  processes  which 
make  up  an  individual's  mental  equipment  has  not  as  yet 
been  determined.  The  so-called  higher  mental  processes  are 
capable  of  analysis  in  so  many  different  terms  that  it 
becomes  obvious  that  they  are  themselves  a  generalization 
rather  than  a  measurable  entity.  As  soon  as  the  attempt 
is  made  to  make  constructiveness,  for  instance,  concrete  in 
a  test  situation,  we  find  that  memory  and  attention  are  also 
involved.  This  is  true  of  any  arrangement  of  processes  that 
may  be  selected.  Even  in  tests  where  the  situation  is  kept 
fairly  simple  like  those  for  rote  memory  or  muscular  adjust- 
ment, our  measure  of  the  individual's  possession  of  the 
quality  is  entirely  in  terms  of  his  reactions  to  a  particular 
situation.  A  rote  memory  test  does  not  give  a  cross  section 
of  the  individual's  inherent  and  generalized  ability  to  re- 
member by  rote.  It  indicates  only  the  way  he  remembers 
digits  or  syllables  under  certain  conditions.  But  so  far  from 
being  a  limitation  of  the  test  method  for  a  problem  such 
as  ours  this  seems  to  be  one  of  its  chief  advantages.  An 
analysis  of  the  pupil's  adjustment  to  school  demands  can 
be  useful  only  if  it  is  made  in  terms  that  are  common  to 
the  situations  of  everyday  life.  Therefore  if  the  tests  are 
arranged  to  present  a  varied  and  definite  group  of  activities 
requiring  types  of  adjustment  like  those  the  child  is  called 
upon  to  make  in  daily  life,  they  should  furnish  a  valuable 


8  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

comment  upon  the  reaction  of  the  child  to  his  environment. 

We  definitely  assumed  that  test  situations  could  be  em- 
ployed, each  one  of  which  would  involve  mental  factors, 
and  the  belief  was  implicit  that  the  more  varied  the  situa- 
tions adopted  the  more  likely  would  we  be  to  cover  a  rather 
broad  range  of  mental  adjustments.  This  did  not,  however, 
involve  any  attempt  to  prescribe  or  judge  the  proportion 
of  various  phases  of  mental  activity  involved.  The  school 
marks  and  school  history  furnish  records  of  the  adjustments 
to  situations  which  are  sufficiently  defined  by  the  curriculum 
and  by  the  administrative  methods  of  the  school  to  make 
them  available  as  measures.  Therefore  we  felt  that  tests 
which  presented  the  same  type  of  situation  as  school  work 
should  be  included  in  the  series  only  where  it  seemed  desir- 
able to  get  measures  of  simpler  situations  than  those  repre- 
sented by  marks  and  school  progress.  Aside  from  this,  our 
aim  in  adding  to  the  test  series  was  the  purely  general  one 
of  presenting  situations  requiring  mental  adjustments  of 
the  type  that  a  child  uses  in  accommodating  himself  to  his 
world. 

As  the  investigation  proceeded  we  became  aware  that 
certain  types  of  situation  had  been  omitted  which  might 
have  added  distinctly  new  elements  to  the  test  series.  It 
was  equally  apparent  that  certain  tests  did  not  vary  the 
tj^e  of  adjustment.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  at  practically 
every  stage  of  the  investigation  improvements  could  have 
been  made,  we  limited  our  changes  almost  wholly  to  the 
elimination  of  tests  that  were  unsatisfactory  in  some  phase 
of  administration.  This  procedure  was  prescribed  by  the 
fact  that  we  were  examining  successively  children  of  six 
different  ages  and  changes  would  have  necessitated  the 
repetition  of  the  test  or  tests  involved  for  the  ages  already 
examined. 

In  developing  methods  for  evaluating  test  results,  the 
worker  is  likely  to  discard  qualitative  measures  reluctantly. 
"We  all  tend  to  assume  that  the  terms  in  which  we  are 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  9 

accustomed  to  measure  values  are  the  best  standard  that 
can  be  applied.  But  when  we  examine  closely  the  variable 
elements  in  such  a  score  as  ''good— neatly  but  rather  slowly 
done, ' '  we  realize  that  although  it  has  a  satisfying  sound,  it 
is  in  reality  extremely  vague  when  compared  with  the  state- 
ment that  a  child  scored  7  on  a  range  of  scores  from  0  to  12 
covering  the  performances  of  a  representative  group.  What 
appears  good  to  one  examiner  may  not  to  another.  Even 
when  uniform  instructions  are  followed,  we  cannot  be  sure 
just  what  it  was  in  the  test  that  was  good ;  the  result,  the 
method  followed  by  the  subject,  or  his  attitude  toward  the 
task.  Nor  can  an  examiner  always  be  sure  that  only  ele- 
ments which  he  considered  significant  in  the  test  are  in- 
fluencing his  judgment.  The  human  tendency  to  make 
allowances  for  such  factors  as  youth,  bad  physical  condition, 
obviously  poor  home  opportunities,  is  extremely  difficult  to 
control  in  making  qualitative  judgments,  with  the  result 
that  the  same  examiner  might  rank  the  same  performance 
very  differently  under  different  circumstances. 

The  attempt  to  get  qualitative  factors  of  a  test  in  terms 
that  are  comparable  for  all  subjects  is  especially  difficult 
where  standard  results  are  desirable.  If  it  is  made  con- 
scientiously the  time  involved  is  very  great.  Long  experi- 
mentation is  necessary  before  values  can  be  assigned  to 
different  types  of  performances.  The  problem  of  identify- 
ing each  performance  as  of  one  type  or  another  persists 
as  long  as  the  test  is  used.  The  attempt  to  define  a  standard 
capable  of  use  by  other  examiners  tends  to  result  in  elabora- 
tion which  finally  becomes  meaningless.  The  score  7,  how- 
ever, represents  a  concrete  result  in  the  form  of  errors, 
time,  number  of  moves  or  number  of  successes.  Given  care- 
fully trained  investigators,  who  make  records  that  are 
capable  of  re-evaluation,  the  score  will  always  represent 
approximately  the  same  performance.  The  obvious  diffi- 
culty of  this  method,  i.e.,  that  of  making  sure  that  the 


10  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

element  of  the  test  chosen  for  measurement  is  significant, 
is  not  greater  than  when  a  qualitative  method  is  pursued. 

In  order  to  secure  the  best  quantitative  measures  of  our 
tests  the  fullest  possible  records  were  made  of  the  details 
of  the  subject's  performance.  These  records  made  a  large 
number  of  values  available  for  final  treatment.  From  these 
values,  we  have  attempted  to  select  those  which  represented 
the  significant  elements  of  the  test  and  lent  themselves  to 
statistical  treatment.  Furthermore,  values  had  to  be  in 
such  terms  that  a  serial  ranking  of  normal  children  of  the 
same  .age  would  result.  In  a  few  instances  we  were  unable 
to  get  a  single  value  for  the  test  and  in  others  we  had  to 
ignore  some  obviously  valuable  factors ;  either  because  they 
had  not  been  recognized  when  the  test  was  standardized  or 
because  they  proved  incapable  of  statistical  arrangement. 

Having  eliminated  the  unknown  factors  which  are 
present  when  individual  judgments  are  relied  upon  for  giv- 
ing and  interpreting  tests  it  is  possible  to  assume  that  within 
certain  limits  the  results  for  a  test  will  be  comparable. 
There  are  however,  certain  factors  which  it  is  impossible 
to  control  absolutely  and  the  judgment  of  the  examiner 
must  be  relied  upon  in  determining  their  influence  upon  the 
subject's  reactions.  It  is  clear  that  certain  external  condi- 
tions would  inevitably  change  during  the  course  of  an  in- 
tensive investigation  such  as  ours.  Children  were  tested 
in  half  a  dozen  schools  and  with  as  many  different  kinds 
of  working  space  and  conditions.  Several  different  ex- 
aminers were  at  work  and  their  places  might  be  taken  by 
others  before  the  work  was  completed.  The  effect  of  the 
personality  of  the  examiner,  the  momentary  emotional  con- 
dition of  the  subject,  the  workroom,  different  hours  of  the 
day,  etc.,  cannot  be  absolutely  controlled.  But  by  prescrib- 
ing a  definite  procedure  for  the  conduct  of  the  examination 
and  of  each  test,  by  providing  for  the  commoner  emergencies 
presented  by  the  children,  and  by  training  the  examiners 
as  a  group  so  that  uniformity  is  assured  for  instructions, 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  11 

attitude  and  manner,  a  great  many  variables  are  eliminated. 

The  methodological  problem  that  must  be  met  in  under- 
taking such  an  investigation  as  the  present  one  is  the  extent 
to  which  standardization  shall  be  carried  and  the  amount 
of  initiative  and  judgment  that  shall  consciously  be  allowed 
the  examiners.  We  chose  to  adopt  a  method  in  which  the 
maximmn  of  rigidity  and  uniformity  were  prescribed,  imder 
the  conviction  that  a  really  quantitative  measure  of  the 
child's  adjustment  was  our  goal  and  would  justify  the 
limitations  in  flexibility  which  it  would  necessitate. 

It  is  obvious  that  such  measures  can  *be  obtained  only 
from  records  made  by  individual  testing.  Although  the 
time  involved  in  testing  by  this  method  is  very  great  it 
seemed  the  only  legitimate  one  to  pursue  in  an  investigation 
of  tests.  Group  testing  imposes  limitations  on  the  type 
and  form  of  test  material.  It  also  makes  it  impossible  to 
insure  the  maximum  of  effort  on  the  part  of  each  subject 
or  the  tester's  observation  of  individual  situations  which 
may  practically  invalidate  the  test.  It  seemed  especially 
important,  in  selecting  test  situations  as  we  did,  that  we 
should  be  free  to  include  any  test  which  seemed  to  give  a 
picture  of  the  adjustments  we  were  studying.  Although 
the  group  method  pemiits  of  a  wider  and  less  specialized 
use  of  tests,  it  is  too  wasteful  and  too  limiting  a  method 
to  employ  for  research.  It  is  also  a  question  whether  in 
the  present  stage  of  test  knowledge  it  can  yield  sufficiently 
complete  pictures  for  indi^ddual  analysis. 

Some  form  of  arrangement  of  the  material  is  necessary 
to  describe  the  results.  Even  such  a  simple  thing  as  ex- 
cellence in  a  test  is  not  always  observable  from  the  child's 
score.  This  we  felt  \vas  primarily  the  task  of  a  statistician  ; 
while  that  of  the  examiners  was  to  get  a  sufficiently  large 
body  of  results  to  make  statistical  treatment  fruitful,  and 
to  control,  as  far  as  possible,  the  external  factors  which 
might  cloud  the  psychological  significance  of  the  results. 


12  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


CHAPTER  II 
GENERAL  PROCEDURE 

Selection  of  Subjects 

The  selection  of  subjects  is  a  vital  question  in  planning 
an  investigation  since  tbe  value  of  tbe  results  depends  upon 
the  definiteness  with  which  the  group  can  be  described.  Our 
interest  was  in  the  public  school  children  of  New  York  City. 
But  this  population  consists  of  children  whose  every  char- 
acteristic varies.  Therefore  some  further  selection  within 
the  group  was  necessary.  Since  so  many  of  the  children 
who  attend  the  schools  come  from  families  that  are  com- 
paratively recent  arrivals  in  this  country,  we  felt  that  the 
value  of  the  work  was  not  compromised  by  selecting  a 
foreign  group.  It  was  also  necessary  to  do  so  if  any  con- 
trol was  to  be  exercised  over  nationality.  The  only  schools 
in  the  city  where  markedly  homogeneous  conditions  of  race 
and  social  status  exist  are  those  in  the  foreign  quarters. 
Fortunately  the  principals  who  were  most  interested  in 
cooperating  in  the  work  had  schools  where  the  social 
homogeneity  was  very  marked  and  where  the  majority  of 
the  pupils  were  of  one  race— Jewish.  We  therefore  decided 
to  base  the  investigation  upon  results  obtained  from  Jewish 
subjects,  and  to  collect  a  parallel  body  of  results  in  schools 
where  other  nationalities  predominated.  This  we  hoped 
would  bring  out  the  extent  to  which  our  conclusions  and 
interpretations  were  applicable  to  city  school  children  in 
general. 

The  practical  difficulties  of  testing  groups  of  different 
social  and  economic  levels  in  the  New  York  Public  Schools 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


13 


AOB 


GRADE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  TEST  GROUPS 


Boys 
8.0-8.9    9.0-9.9  10.O-10.9    11.0-11.9    12.0-12.9    13.0-13.9 


I  A 

IB 

2 

II A 

5               1 

II B               ] 

12               2 

III  A 

17              3 

1 

IIIB 

11             11 

3 

2 

IV  B 

3             19 

4 

IV  B 

12 

6 

5 

3 

VA 

2 

12 

10 

7 

VB 

16 

9 

6 

VIA 

6 

11 

7 

5 

VI  B 

2 

13 

9 

8 

VII  A 

, , 

, , 

10 

7 

VII  B 

. . 

, , 

3 

17 

VIII  A 

. . 

. . 

2 

8 

VIII  B 

3 

5 

Mean  Grade*    3; 

i.7         4A.2 

5A.7 

5B.7 

6B.2 

7B.0 

*  The  means  which  accompany  this  table  were  reckoned  on  the  basis  of  the 
exact  place  in  the  grade  that  each  child  had  reached  at  the  time  of  being  tested. 
A  numerical  value  was  assigned  to  each  grade  so  that  the  values  ranged  from 
1  for  I  A  to  16  for  VIII  B  and  the  fraction  of  the  grade  through  which  the  child 
had  progressed  according  to  the  days,  weeks  or  months  spent  in  it  was  represented 
as  a  decimal. 


Age 


Girls 
8.0-8.9    9.0-9.9    10.0-10.9    11.0-11.9    12.0-12.9    13.0-13.9 


I  A 

IB 

II  A 

6 

II B               10               3 

III  A             '. 

n             3 

2 

IIIB             ] 

L3             11 

6 

2 

IV  A 

23 

5 

1 

1 

■ 

IV  B 

10 

11 

3 

4 

VA 

. . 

13 

4 

3 

VB 

11 

8 

2 

VIA 

, 

2 

17 

12 

3 

VI  B 

, 

,  , 

12 

2 

8 

VII  A 

3 

12 

8 

VII  B 

^  , 

10 

5 

VIII  A 

3 

19 

VIII B 

1 

7 

Mean  Grade      Zi 

^..7         Ai 

\..2 

5A.1 

6A.0 

6B.5 

7B.4 

14  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

are  so  great  that  it  was  decided  not  to  attempt  a  check  of 
this  sort.  The  other  racial  groups  were  selected  from  schools 
where  the  enviromnent  of  the  pupils  approximated  that  of 
the  Jewish  children  as  nearly  as  possible. 

In  working  with  children  it  is  obvious  that  the  problem 
of  measuring  differences  between  individuals  is  complicated 
by  the  age  factor.  We  expect  children  of  different  ages 
to  do  things  differently  even  if  their  general  ability  is  equal. 
Therefore  results  had  to  be  obtained  for  children  of  dif- 
ferent ages.  By  testing  equal  numbers  of  similarly  selected 
children  through  a  series  of  years  it  is  possible  to  measure 
the  effect  of  growth  on  the  test  performance.  One  year  was 
chosen  as  a  convenient  and  usual  dividing  point  for  age. 
All  the  age  groups  contained  the  same  number  of  subjects 
in  order  to  facilitate  handling  the  results.  Equal  numbers 
of  boys  and  girls  were  included  in  the  age  groups,  not  be- 
cause we  had  any  theories  about  sex  differences,  but  because 
if  differences  in  performance  did  exist  we  wished  to  be  able 
to  treat  the  groups  separately. 

Pupils  below  eight  years  could  not  be  tested  because 
some  knowledge  of  reading  was  necessary  and  thirteen  years 
was  chosen  as  the  upper  limit  because  it  roughly  marks  the 
age  when  chilren  leave  elementary  school. 

Having  determined  from  the  outset  to  base  interpreta- 
tions only  upon  an  objective  handling  of  the  material,  it 
was  necessary  to  have  groups  which  were  suitable  for 
statistical  treatment.  One  sex  of  one  age  was  taken  as  the 
natural  unit  for  treatment.  Fifty  Vv^as  the  number  decided 
upon  for  each  unit.  Larger  groups  would  undoubtedly  sim- 
plify much  of  the  work  of  interpretation,  but  fifty  seemed 
a  sufficiently  large  number  of  cases  on  which  to  base  con- 
clusions about  such  homogeneous  groups,  and  the  time  neces- 
sary for  testing  was  so  great  that  it  seemed  impossible  to 
increase  the  groups  appreciably. 

The  Jewish  subjects  who  make  up  the  bulk  of  those 
tested  were  pupils  in  Public  School  15  on  East  Pifth  Street, 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  15 

a  school  of  over  3000  pupils,  ninety-five  percent  of  whom 
are  Jewish.  The  boys  are  transferred  from  this  school  to 
Public  School  64  for  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  so  that 
the  twelve  and  thirteen  year  old  boys  were  tested  there.  The 
test  groups  were  made  up  by  listing  all  the  Jewish  boys 
and  girls  of  eight  through  thirteen  years  separately.  Each 
list  was  then  divided  into  five  lists,  by  grouping  all  the 
children  who  had  passed  their  eighth  birthday  and  not  yet 
reached  their  ninth,  etc.,  for  each  age.  Fifty  subjects  were 
then  selected  from  each  list  distributed  through  the  grades 
proportionately  to  the  actual  representation  of  children  of 
that  age  in  each  school  grade.  This  was  accomplished  by 
determining  the  percent  of  the  whole  age  group  found  in 
each  grade,  and  planning  the  age-sex  groups  upon  the  same 
basis.  Thus  a  true  cross  section  of  the  school  population 
for  each  age  studied  was  obtained.  Aside  from  this  pro- 
portional representation,  the  only  control  exercised  in  mak- 
ing up  the  groups  was  the  elimination  of  children  who  did 
not  belong  to  the  racial  group,  and  of  children  in  the  classes 
for  mental  defectives  or  those  recommended  for  admission 
to  these  classes. 

Public  Schools  19;  82  and  76;  41  and  16  contained  a 
large  majority  of  Italian,  Bohemian,  and  third-generation 
American  children  respectively.  These  schools  were  chosen 
for  testing  for  the  racial  check.  Because  of  the  limited  time 
the  tests  were  given  to  only  125  children  in  each  of  the  three 
racial  groups.  These  cases  were  selected  in  the  same  way 
as  the  Jewish.  The  age  groups  are  therefore  too  small  to 
be  presented  as  norms  and  the  results  are  omitted  from  this 
study. 

Selection  of  Tests 

The  original  plan  of  the  work  was  to  obtain  norms  for 
children  from  eight  through  thirteen  years  of  age,  for  tests 
that  had  been  in  use  in  the  Child  Labor  Division  of  the 


16  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Bureau  of  Vocational  Guidance  in  Cincinnati,  for  children 
of  thirteen  to  eighteen  years  of  age. 
The  tests  were :  * 

Strength  of  Grip,  (Whipple  No.  6) 
Steadiness  of  Motor  Control,  (Whipple  No.  13) 
Tapping— quickness  of  movement,  (Whipple  No.  10) 
Rote  Memory,  (Whipple  No.  38) 
Completion  of  Sentences,  (Whipple  No.  46B) 
Cancellation  of  A's,  (Whipple  No.  26) 
Association  by  Opposites,  (Whipple  No.  34C) 
Substitution,  (Whipple  No.  37C) 
Card  Sorting,  ( Jastrow) 

In  order  to  present  objective  situations  requiring  as 
varied  a  range  of  mental  adjustments  as  possible,  other 
tests  were  added  to  the  series.  These  were  Healy's  Con- 
struction puzzles  A  and  B  and  Picture  Completion,  Ter- 
man's  Ball  and  Field  problem,  Rossolimo'sf  card  punching 
test  for  attention,  the  Hayes  Learning  and  Problem  Boxes, 
the  Ellis  Memory  for  Objects  Test,  the  Knox  Cube  Test, 
and  a  test  for  the  identification  of  forms.  The  Binet-Sunon 
Age  Scale  and  the  Yerkes  Point  Scale  were  included  in 
the  series  in  order  to  make  a  study  of  their  comparative 
value,  and  of  the  value  of  the  age-scale  method  of  grading 
compared  with  a  varied  series  of  tests. 

These  tests  were  given  to  a  preliminary  group  of  children 
in  Public  School  15  in  order  to  determine  their  suitability 
for  our  subjects.  During  the  time  that  the  first  group  of 
eight  year  old  children  were  being  examined,  other  tests 
which  varied  still  further  the  type  of  situation  presented 
to  the  subjects  were  developed.    These  were: 

♦Whipple,  G.  M.,  Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests,  Parts  I  and  II. 
Woolley  and  Fischer,  Mental  and  Physical  Measurements  of  Working  Children. 
Psychological  Monographs,  Vol.  XVIII,  No.  1. 

t  Rossolimo,  Die  Psychologischen  Profile.  Klinik  ftir  Psychische  und  Nervose 
Krankheiten,  VI  Band,  3  Heft. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  17 

Nail  Driving  Cart  Construction 

Needle  Threading  Narrative  Pictures 

Fastening  Buttons  Instruction  Box 

The  Problem  Box  was  found  to  be  too  difficult  for  the 
eight  year  old  children  and  its  use  was  postponed  until 
the  testing  of  the  other  age  groups.  Before  the  examination 
of  the  nine  year  group,  the  tapping  and  sentence  completion 
tests  were  dropped  from  the  series  and  certain  minor 
changes  were  made  in  the  instructions  for  other  tests.  The 
tapping  test  was  discarded  since  it  was  impossible  to  adjust 
the  electric  enmnerator  to  record  accurately  and  the  limita- 
tions of  time  and  space  made  the  use  of  the  kymograph 
impractical.  It  proved  impossible  to  develop  an  adequate 
objective  standard  for  evaluating  the  sentence  completion 
test  and,  rather  than  introduce  the  uncertainty  of  individual 
judgments  into  the  scoring,  the  test  was  given  up. 

For  the  uniform  examination  of  all  subjects  from  nine 
through  thirteen  years,  the  tests  were  divided  into  five  series 
as  follows : 

Series  A  Series  B 

Picture  Completion  Memory  for  Objects 

Healy  A  Healy  B 

Identification  of  Forms  Memory  for  Digits 

Opposites  Card  Sorting 

Cancellation  Substitution 

Series  G  Series  D 

Cart  Construction  Narrative  Pictures 

Rossolimo  Instruction  Box 

Ball  and  Field  Steadiness 

Nail  Driving  Learning  Box 

Needle  Threading  Strength 
Problem  Box 

Series  E 

Binet-Yerkes 
Knox  Cubes 


18  METHODS  AND   RESULTS  OF 

The  instructions  followed  in  giving  Opposites,  Learning 
Box,  Rossolimo's  test  and  Buttons  are  not  included  in  the 
section  dealing  with  the  instructions  for  giving  and  scoring 
tests  since  the  results  had  to  be  discarded  because  of  various 
imperfections.  In  the  case  of  Opposites,  we  followed  the 
method  of  many  other  testers,  using  several  lists  in  order 
to  prevent  coaching.  These  lists  were  first  judged  ap- 
proximately equal  by  inspection,  but  when  the  lists  were 
actually  compared  on  the  basis  of  the  subjects*  responses, 
they  proved  to  be  so  different  in  difficulty  that  the  test  had 
to  be  omitted.  The  Learning  Box  proved  so  puzzling  to 
many  children  that  they  were  unable  to  open  it  on  the  first 
trial  without  help.  This  resulted  in  variations  of  the  in- 
structions which  made  it  seem  unwise  to  use  the  results. 
The  button  test  was  given  up  because  of  difficulty  in  keeping 
the  materials  standard.  Rossolimo's  test  was  omitted  be- 
cause of  uncertainties  which  arose  in  evaluating  the  errors. 

Testing  Procedure 

The  tests  were  given  to  the  children  individually  and 
under  standard  conditions.  An  effort  was  made  to  avoid 
the  child's  receiving  the  impression  that  he  was  being  classi- 
fied according  to  his  performance  in  the  tests  or  that  he 
was  undergoing  a  school  examination.  The  testing  was  never 
begun  until  the  child  felt  at  home  with  the  tester  and  in- 
terested in  doing  as  he  was  asked.  His  mistakes  were  never 
corrected,  the  tester  maintaining  an  encouraging  and  satis- 
fied manner  no  matter  what  the  response. 

The  examiners  memorized  the  instructions  and  then 
practiced  with  trial  subjects  until  they  could  give  the  instruc- 
tions verbatim,  handle  the  material  easily  and  meet  all  the 
common  emergencies  presented  by  the  children.  Twice  dur- 
ing the  school  year  each  tester  rehearsed  the  instructions  in 
the  presence  of  another  to  prevent  deviations  from  the 
standard. 

It  was  impossible  to  give  each  worker  a  complete  set  of 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  19 

test  materiaL  This  necessitated  adjustments  which  made 
it  impossible  to  start  the  examination  of  every  child  with 
the  same  series  of  tests,  or  complete  it  in  the  same  order. 
Therefore  twenty-five  percent  of  each  age  group  were  given 
Series  A  at  their  first  examination,  twenty-five  percent 
Series  B,  etc.  Series  E  was  always  given  at  the  fourth  or 
fifth  examination.  Within  each  series  the  tests  were  given 
in  the  order  listed. 

Each  examination  lasted  from  twenty-five  to  forty-five 
minutes.  If  a  subject  had  not  finished  the  series  within 
the  longer  time  he  was  sent  back  to  his  class-room  and  the 
testing  finished  at  a  sixth  examination.  It  was  found  im- 
possible to  regulate  the  period  which  elapsed  between  ex- 
aminations, but  most  of  the  cases  were  finished  in  a  period 
of  two  or  three  weeks.  Exceptional  cases  were  crowded 
into  a  week  or  spread  over  a  month,  rarely  more. 

The  records  called  for  in  the  instructions  were  made  by 
the  tester  on  printed  blanks  as  the  subject  responded.  No 
scoring  was  done  while  the  tests  were  being  given.  The 
tests  were  scored  on  the  original  blanks  by  one  person  except 
where  the  rules  were  complicated  when  they  were  rescored 
by  a  second  person.  In  timing  responses  * 'football-timer '* 
stop-watches  were  used.  They  were  found  easier  to  handle 
and  not  subject  to  the  constant  breakage  of  the  ordinary 
stop-watch. 

The  subjects  were  numbered  and  the  numbers  instead  of 
the  names  used  in  all  work  on  the  material.  As  the  scoring 
was  completed  the  detailed  results  were  entered  on  large 
sheets,  which  were  made  up  for  each  test  group,  a  test  group 
consisting  of  one  sex  of  one  age  for  each  nationality.  The 
original  blanks  were  preserved  and  filed  by  number.  They 
have  been  found  invaluable  for  reference  and  without  them 
much  of  the  work  of  developing  the  best  test  values  would 
have  been  impossible.  The  work  of  compiling  norms  was 
done  from  the  big  sheets.  The  more  elaborate  statistical 
work  was  done  from  case  cards  made  from  these  sheets. 


20  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


CHAPTER  in 

INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  GIVING  AND  SCORING 

THE  TESTS 

The  instructions  whicli  we  have  used  in  administering, 
recording,  and  scoring  the  tests  are  given  in  detail,  with  a 
description  of  the  material  for  tests  which  we  have  devised. 
No  attempt  has  been  made  to  present  an  analysis  of  the 
tests  or  of  their  results  in  this  volume.  We  have  included 
only  those  tests  where  we  found  the  results  capable  of  use 
either  for  age  norms,  statistical  analysis,  or  individual 
description. 

In  deciding  upon  the  norm  values  we  chose  those  scores 
which  seemed  the  most  complete  numerical  representation 
of  a  total  performance  or  a  definite  phase  of  it.  The  best 
single  value  for  ranking  the  subjects  was  selected  from 
the  norms,  for  statistical  analysis.  Many  other  reactions 
which  we  considered  worth  noting  as  presenting  a  picture 
of  the  individual  performance  were  recorded  in  a  uniform 
manner.  The  complete  records  were  suromarized  and 
studied  before  choosing  the  norms. 

Wherever  verbatim  instructions  are  available  for  giving 
tests  which  have  been  used  by  other  investigators,  those 
instructions  have  been  followed,  with  only  such  changes 
and  amplifications  as  were  necessary  to  insure  a  uniform 
procedure  and  the  understanding  of  the  directions  by  our 
subjects.  It  was  our  plan  to  score  the  tests  of  other  in- 
vestigators as  they  have,  so  that  comparisons  could  be  made, 
but  because  of  the  necessity  for  arranging  a  single  value 
for  each  test  it  was  impossible  to  do  so  in  most  cases.    The 


Figs.  1  axu  2. — Cart  Construction  Test. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  21 

changes  in  scoring  and  evaluating  which  we  have  introduced 
are  discussed  in  the  notes  on  each  test  which  follow  the 
instructions. 

Cart  Construction  (Hayes-Dewey) 

Materials:  Schoenhut's  ''cart  model  No.  10,"  a  wooden 
toy  automobile.  Stop-watch.  The  four  side  pieces  of  the 
model  with  the  holes  through  which  the  axles  slip  were  glued 
fast  to  the  body,  so  that  there  were  sixteen  pieces  in  the  cart. 
Care  should  be  taken  to  have  all  the  pieces  fit  accurately 
and  not  too  tightly  in  a  new  model.  The  models  should  be 
replaced  by  new  ones  from  time  to  time  as  long  use  results 
in  a  loosening  of  the  parts  and  a  tendency  for  them  to  fall 
apart  even  after  being  properly  adjusted. 

Instructions:  Present  pieces  for  body  of  auto  as  shown 
in  cut.  Say,  "I  want  you  to  see  if  you  can  put  all  these 
pieces  together  so  that  they  will  make  an  automobile. 
You  see  this  (show  chassis)  is  part  of  an  automobile  and 
here  are  all  the  pieces  you  will  need  to  finish  it.  Now  see 
how  quickly  you  can  make  it  so  that  it  will  stay  together 
and  will  rmi."  Start  watch  as  instructions  are  finished. 
Stop  it  when  all  the  pieces  are  in  place,  or  when  the  subject 
insists  he  can  do  no  more,  or  when  the  time  limit  of  eight 
minutes  is  reached. 

For  second  part  of  test,  make  any  corrections  necessary 
to  perfect  body  of  auto  and  present  pieces  for  the  top  in  the 
manner  shown  in  cut  No.  2.  ''You  see  these  other  pieces. 
If  you  put  them  on  the  automobile  just  right,  they  will 
make  a  top  for  it  and  turn  it  into  a  delivery  wagon.  Now 
see  how  quickly  you  can  put  them  on.'*  Start  watch  as 
instructions  are  finished.  If  no  start  has  been  made  (no 
pieces  of  the  top  are  attached  to  the  body  or  to  each  other) 
at  the  end  of  two  minutes,  end  the  test.  If  any  start  has 
been  made  allow  eight  minutes  to  complete  it  if  necessary. 
Take  time  as  for  first  part. 


22  METHODS  AND   RESULTS  OF 

Record :  Record  the  time  in  seconds  separately  for  Parts 
T  and  II.    Record  the  subject's  procedure  as  follows : 

Part  I 

Performance  Symbol . 

Putting  axles  on  cart X  and  Y 

Putting  wheels  on  axles A,  B,  C,  D 

Putting  steering  wheel  on  post E 

Putting  seat  on  cart 1 

Putting  engine  on  cart 2 

Putting  steering  post  on  cart 3 

Part  II 

Putting  sides  on 5a,  5b 

Putting  back  on 6 

Putting  top  on 7 

Putting  wind  shield  on 4 

The  removal  of  a  piece  is  recorded  by  the  symbol  fol- 
lowed by  X.  A  piece  incorrectly  attached  to  the  body  is 
recorded  by  an  o  after  the  symbol.  A  piece  laid  on  the 
body  or  propped  against  it  is  recorded  by  drawing  a  line 
through  the  symbol.    Record  each  move  made  by  the  subject. 

Evaluation:  Give  a  credit  of  two  points  for  each  part 
correctly  attached  to  the  body  and  one  point  for  each  part 
incorrectly  attached.  Perfect  performance  for  Part  I,  20 
points,  for  Part  II,  10  points.  A  correct  or  incorrect  relation 
of  parts  off  the  cart  receives  no  credit  except  (1)  the  fasten- 
ing of  wheels  on  axles  and  the  balancing  of  cart  on  these 
without  proper  attachment  of  axles  to  cart.  Here  give  one 
point  for  each  wheel,  nothing  for  the  axles.  (2)  Putting 
both  axles  through  front  or  rear  axle  holes,  one  on  each  side 
of  cart,  and  putting  a  wheel  on  outside  end  of  each  axle. 
Here  give  one  point  for  each  wheel,  nothing  for  the  axle. 
We  give  as  norms  the  time  in  seconds  for  Part  I  and  the 


Eh 


CO 

d 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  23 

total  score  for  Parts  I  and  II ;  both  values  were  also  used 
for  analysis. 

Notes.  This  test  was  devised  to  meet  the  suggestion  of 
some  of  the  teachers  interested  in  the  investigation  that 
tests  making  use  of  concrete  material  in  familiar  form 
should  be  useful  for  an  examination  of  educational  methods. 
Since  we  wished  to  keep  the  nmnber  of  j)erformance  tests* 
as  large  as  possible,  we  decided  to  include  the  making  of  a 
familar  object  from  materials  where  manual  skill  would 
play  as  small  a  part  as  possible.  The  cart  model  seemed 
to  meet  these  conditions  as  the  material  is  so  simple  that 
it  seems  fair  to  say  that  the  test  is  one  involving  definite 
constructive  or  creative  activity,  rather  than  mechanical 
ability. 

With  the  group  of  children  we  were  testing,  toys  of 
this  sort  are  unknown.  Each  child  was  asked  if  he  were 
familiar  with  the  auto  or  other  toys  like  it.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  two  children  in  the  American  group,  the  few 
affirmative  answers  all  proved  to  be  due  to  a  misunderstand- 
ing. But  with  children  of  a  higher  economic  status  the  use- 
fulness of  the  test  would  i^robably  be  seriously  limited  by 
the  subjects^  familiarity  with  similar  material. 

Narrative  Pictures  (Hayes-Dewey) 

Materials:  Cinderella  ^'Stampcraft'*  book,  and  the 
twelve  poster  stamps  illustrating  the  story,  mounted  on 
cardboard.  Stop-watch.  The  twelve  pictures  are  momited 
in  two  rows  on  a  9  by  17  inch  white  cardboard  in  the 
following  order,  the  numbers  referring  to  the  order  in 
which  the  pictures  belong  in  the  book :  upper  row,  from  left 
to  right,  6,  10,  2,  12,  8,  7;  lower  row,  1,  7,  3,  9,  5,  11.  The 
text  of  the  book  is  rearranged  so  that  there  are  two  super- 
fluous pictures  on  the  card.    Pages  one  and  two  are  com- 

*For  description  of  a  test  with  a  similar  purpose  see  Kelley,  T.  L.,  A  Con- 
struction Ability  Test.    Journal  of  Educational  Psychology,  January,  1916. 


24  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

bined  so  that  picture  No  2  is  correct  and  pages  10  and  11 
so  that  No  11  is  correct.  The  text  as  we  used  it  follows. 
Part  1,  picture  No.  3  on  the  card : 

Once  there  was  a  little  girl  named  Cinderella, 
whose  father  took  for  his  second  wife  the  most  proud 
and  haughty  woman  ever  seen.  She  had  two  daughters 
who  were  just  like  her. 

The  stepmother  and  stepsisters  were  very  unkind 
to  the  little  girl,  because  she  was  so  good  and  beautiful. 
They  made  her  do  all  the  meanest  work  about  the  house ; 
she  it  was  who  washed  the  dishes  and  scrubbed  the 
floors. 

One  day,  the  King's  son  was  to  give  a  grand  ball. 
Of  course  the  proud  sisters  were  invited,  but  nobody 
thought  of  taking  little  Cinderella. 

The  two  sisters  were  delighted.  Cinderella  gladly 
helped  them  dress,  and  even  offered  to  arrange  their 
hair. 

While  she  was  dressing  their  hair,  her  sisters  said 
to  her,  "Cinderella,  don't  you  wish  you  could  go  to  the 
ball?" 

''You  are  only  making  fun  of  me,"  said  Cinderella. 
"How  could  I  go  to  the  grand  ball  as  I  am?" 

"You  are  right,"  they  said,  "people  would  laugh 
at  such  a  dirty  cinder-maid  as  you." 

Part  2,  picture  No.  9 : 

At  last  the  stepsisters  and  their  mother  left  for  the 
ball,  and  poor  Cinderella  was  left  all  alone.  She  was 
so  unhappy  because  she  could  not  go  to  the  ball  that 
she  sat  down  and  began  to  cry. 

Suddenly,  Cinderella's  Godmother  appeared  before 
her. 

"Why  are  you  crying?"  asked  her  Godmother. 


l^L 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  25' 

"I  want — oh,   I  want "  sobbed  Cinderella  witb 

out  being  able  to  say  another  word. 

**You  want  to  go  to  the  ball?'*  said  her  Godmother. 
""Well  then  if  you  wish  very  much  to  go  and  will  do 
just  as  I  tell  you,  I'll  see  that  you  are  soon  there.  Now 
dry  your  tears." 

Part  3,  picture  No.  6 : 

"First  of  aU,"  said  her  Godmother,  "you  must  run 
into  the  garden  and  bring  me  the  largest  pumpkin  you 
can  find." 

Cinderella  did  not  know  what  her  Godmother  could 
possibly  want  with  a  pumpkin,  but  she  did  as  she  was 
told.  Her  Godmother  scooped  out  the  inside  and 
touched  it  with  her  wand.  Instantly  the  pumpkin  was 
changed  into  a  beautiful  gilded  coach. 

"Now  I  want  a  mouse-trap,"  said  her  Godmother. 

Away  ran  Cinderella,  who  soon  returned  with  a 
mouse-trap  with  six  mice  in  it.  Cinderella  opened  the 
door  of  the  mouse-trap  and,  as  the  mice  ran  out,  her 
Godmother  changed  them  with  her  wand  into  six  pranc- 
ing horses." 

Part  4,  picture  No.  11 : 

"Now  we  have  your  coach  and  horses,"  said  her 
Godmother,  "but  what  shall  we  do  for  a  coachman? 
Bun  and  bring  me  the  rat-trap." 

Cinderella  brought  the  trap  and  in  it  were  three 
big  rats.  The  Godmother  chose  the  biggest  of  the  three, 
and,  having  touched  him  with  her  wand,  he  was  changed 
into  a  fat,  jolly  coachman. 

Next  she  said  to  Cinderella,  "Go  again  into  the 
garden  and  bring  me  six  lizards. " 

These  her  Godmother  changed  into  six  smart  foot- 


26  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

men,  who  jumped  into  their  places  on  the  back  of  the 
coach. 

''This  is  just  what  you  needed  to  go  to  the  ball," 
said  her  Godmother. 

"Yes,  indeed,"  said  Cinderella,  ''but  must  I  go  in 
these  dirty  clothes?" 

Part  5,  picture  No.  1 : 

"Shut  your  eyes,"  cried  her  Grodmother. 

Cinderella  shut  her  eyes  tight  and  her  Godmother 
touched  her  lightly  with  her  wand.  Immediately  her 
dirty  rags  were  changed  into  the  most  beautiful  dress  of 
silver  and  gold  that  you  have  ever  seen,  and  on  her  feet 
were  two  dainty  glass  slippers. 

"Now  you  can  drive  off  to  the  ball,"  said  her  God- 
mother, "but  remember  one  thing.  You  must  he  home 
hefore  the  clock  strikes  twelve.  Promise  that  you  will 
obey  me,  for  if  you  stay  away  one  minute  longer,  your 
beautiful  clothes,  your  coach  and  your  horses  will 
change  to  what  they  were  before." 

Part  6,  picture  No.  8 : 

Cinderella  promised,  and  away  she  drove  to  the 
King's  palace. 

At  the  door  of  the  palace,  the  Prince  helped  her 
from  her  carriage  and  led  her  to  the  ballroom. 

The  Prince  danced  with  Cinderella  and  she  danced 
so  gracefully  that  everyone  admired  her. 

When  supper  was  served,  the  Prince  escorted  Cin- 
derella to  the  seat  of  honor.  She  shared  the  fruits  and 
candies  that  the  Prince  had  given  her  with  her  sisters 
who  sat  close  by ;  but  of  course  they  did  not  know  her. 

When  the  clock  struck  eleven  and  three-quarters, 
Cinderella  hastened  away,  but  promised  the  Prince  sEe 
would  return  to  the  ball  on  the  next  evening. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  27 

Part  7,  picture  No.  5 : 

When  Cinderella  reached  home,  she  asked  her  God- 
mother to  please  let  her  go  the  following  night.  Her 
Godmother  promised  and  while  Cinderella  was  telling 
her  about  the  ball,  her  stepsisters  and  stepmother  ar- 
rived.   Quickly  her  Godmother  vanished. 

Cinderella  pretended  to  be  asleep  and  jumped  up 
as  they  entered.   Rubbing  her  eyes,  she  said : 

**Did  you  have  a  good  time  at  the  ball?" 

'^Oh,  it  was  wonderful!"  replied  the  sisters,  ''and 
we  met  a  most  beautiful  jDrincess  who  was  most  kind 
to  us." 

The  next  night  her  sisters  went  to  the  ball,  and  Cin- 
derella went  too ;  and  her  dress  was  even  more  beautiful 
than  the  night  before. 

The  Prince  was  always  with  Cinderella  and  kept 
telling  her  how  beautiful  she  was. 

Part  8,  picture  No.  10 : 

When  supper  was  served,  she  again  occupied  the 
place  of  honor  beside  the  Prince,  and  she  was  so  happy 
that  she  quite  forgot  the  promise  she  made  to  her  God- 
mother to  be  home  before  twelve  o  'clock. 

On  the  first  stroke  of  midnight,  Cinderella  jumped 
up  quickly  and  ran  from  the  room  and  down  the  stairs 
as  fast  as  she  could  go— so  fast  that  one  of  her  glass 
slippers  came  off.  She  did  not  have  time  to  pick  it  up. 
On  she  ran,  and  when  she  came  out  of  the  palace,  alas ! 
the  coach  and  horses  had  vanished.  She  herself  was  in 
the  same  old  dirty  clothes  she  wore  every  day. 

Part  9,  picture  No.  2: 

When  Cinderella  rushed  away,  the  Prince  ran 
after  her,  but  he  could  not  catch  her.  Seeing  her  slipper 
on  the  palace  stairs,  he  picked  it  up. 


28  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

The  next  day,  the  King's  herald  went  round  the 
city.  He  said  the  Prince  had  found  a  glass  slipper 
which  belonged  to  a  beautiful  lady.  The  Prince  had 
fallen  in  love  with  her,  and  if  only  they  could  find  her, 
he  would  marry  the  lady  who  could  wear  the  glass 
slipper. 

All  the  young  girls  of  the  land  came  to  try  on  this 
wonderful  glass  slipper,  but  it  was  so  small  that  none 
of  them  could  wear  it. 

At  last  the  messenger  came  to  the  house  where  Cin- 
derella lived. 

First  the  stepmother  tried  it  on,  and  no  matter  how 
she  pulled  and  pulled  it  would  not  go  on.  Then  the 
stepsisters  tried  and  it  fitted  them  no  better. 

Then  Cinderella  said,  ''Please  let  me  try  it  on.'' 

She  tried  on  the  slipper  and  it  fitted  perfectly ! 

Then  putting  her  hand  into  her  pocket  Cinderella 
pulled  out  the  other  slipper. 

Part  10,  picture  No.  4: 

Imagine  the  surprise  of  the  two  sisters ! 

Suddenly  Cinderella's  Godmother  was  at  her  side. 
She  touched  Cinderella  with  her  wand  and  again  she 
was  a  beautiful  princess. 

Then  the  two  stepsisters  begged  to  be  forgiven.  But 
Cinderella,  who  was  as  good  as  she  was  beautiful,  kissed 
them  and  told  them  she  would  always  love  them. 

The  King's  messenger  drove  away  with  Cinderella 
to  the  palace  where  the  Prince  met  her  and  made  her 
his  bride  and  they  lived  happily  ever  afterward. 

Instructions :  Prop  the  card  of  poster  stamps  in  front  of 
the  subject  and  say,  ''You  see  these  little  colored  pictures? 
I  am  going  to  read  you  a  story  to  go  with  these  pictures 
and  I  want  you  to  see  if  you  can  pick  out  the  right  picture 


TESTING   SCHOOL  CHILDREN  29 

to  go  with  each  part  of  the  story.  I  want  you  to  listen  very 
carefully  and  when  I  finish  each  page  you  tell  me  which 
picture  it  was  about/'  Start  reading  the  story  and  stop 
at  each  of  the  ten  places  marked  and  say,  **Now  what  pic- 
ture goes  with  that  page  ?  * '  Time  limit  for  the  identification 
of  each  picture  one  minute.  Caution  the  subject  to  keep 
his  hands  off  the  table  until  each  page  is  fimished  and  not 
to  point  to  the  picture  until  asked.  Ask  if  he  knows  the 
story  of  Cinderella  and  has  seen  these  pictures;  note  the 
answers. 

Record :  Record  the  picture  chosen  for  each  part  of  the 
story  by  the  number  of  the  picture  as  it  appears  on  the  card. 
Indicate  a  correct  choice  by  X.  Record  the  time  for  each 
choice  that  runs  over  ten  seconds. 

Evaluation :  Ten  points  are  given  for  each  picture  chosen 
correctly,  making  a  perfect  score  of  100.  The  value  in  per- 
cent has  been  used  for  all  work  with  the  test. 

Notes.  The  test  was  devised  as  an  attempt  to  get  into 
test  form  some  factors  intrinsic  in  education.*  The  material 
and  the  method  do  not  duplicate  school  procedure  yet  the 
use  of  language  and  an  appreciation  of  pictures  and  their 
stories  are  chief  elements.  The  test  also  demands  initiative 
and  mental  constructiveness  and  is  presented  in  the  form 
of  a  game,  which  makes  it  comparable  with  the  other  tests. 

Although  the  illustrations  do  not  look  very  clear,  they 
seem  to  be  easily  identified  by  the  children.  All  the  subjects 
were  familiar  with  the  story  from  their  school  readers,  and 
none  of  them  had  seen  the  illustrations  used  in  the  test. 
There  are  alternate  pictures  which  seem  to  deserve  some 
credit  when  chosen  for  certain  pages.  But  since  time  did 
not  permit  our  making  an  intensive  study  of  all  the  choices 
made  as  a  basis  for  an  adequate  standardization  it  seemed 
best  to  follow  an  arbitrary  rule  which  was  as  simple  and 
obvious  as  possible.    It  was  our  intention  to  develop  a  series 

*  Fable  tests  present  an  analogous  situation,  but  are  harder  to  administer  if 
children  of  different  ages  are  to  be  tested. 


30  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

of  pictures  and  stories  that  could  be  used  interchangeably 
with  "Cinderella,"  but  we  were  prevented  by  lack  of  time. 
The  test  would  seem  to  justify  the  work,  and  it  would  be 
valuable  to  arrange  a  story  which  might  appeal  especially 
to  boys  as  "Cinderella"  may  to  girls. 

Identification  of  Forms  (Woolley) 

Materials:  Two  sets  of  geometrical  forms,  screen  for 
the  subject's  eyes;  stop-watch.  One  set  of  eight  forms  is 
mounted  on  a  black  ebonized  board  10%x21x%  inches.  The 
forms  are  made  from  %  i^ch  board  finished  very  smoothly, 
varnished  and  shellacked.  The  pieces  are  glued  and  screwed 
to  the  board  as  shown  in  the  cut,  the  numbers  showing  the 
order  in  which  they  are  given  to  the  subject.  The  loose 
pieces  for  the  subject  to  feel  are  identical  with  those  on 
the  board.  In  order  not  to  frighten  the  children  by 
bandaging  their  eyes  a  screen  was  devised  from  a  folding 
music  stand.  The  rack  was  covered  with  heavy  cardboard 
and  adjusted  so  that  it  slipped  off  and  on  the  stand  easily. 
During  the  test  the  stand  is  placed  between  the  child's  knees 
against  the  table.  When  the  rack  is  in  place  there  is  ample 
space  for  the  child  to  move  his  hands,  yet  it  cuts  off  enough 
of  his  view  so  that  it  is  very  easy  to  prevent  his  seeing  the 
pieces  as  he  feels  them. 

Instructions :  Prop  the  form  board  up  in  front  of  the 
subject.  Say,  "You  see  all  these  wooden  shapes  ?  I  am  go- 
ing to  put  this  screen  in  front  of  your  face  (adjust  screen) 
so  that  you  cannot  see  what  your  hands  are  doing.  Then 
I  am  going  to  give  you  one  of  the  shapes  to  feel  of  and 
after  you  have  felt  of  it  I  will  take  away  the  screen  and 
I  want  you  to  point  to  the  shape  on  this  board  which  is  like 
the  one  you  felt  of.  Here  is  one  to  practice  with.  Now  rub 
your  fingers  round  the  edge  of  it  so  you  will  know  what 
shape  it  is."  Give  the  subject  the  sample  and  show  him 
how  to  feel  of  it  by  guiding  his  fingers  around  the  edge. 


o 
o 


o 
CQ 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  31 

Take  down  the  screen  and  ask  him  which  piece  it  was.  If 
he  indicates  the  correct  form  say,  "Yes,  you  see  they  are 
just  alike, "  and  place  the  sample  upon  its  mate  on  the  board. 
In  case  of  error,  give  him  the  sample  and  say.  "No,  here 
is  the  one  you  had.  You  see  it  is  like  this  one.  Now  feel 
of  it  again.  Feel  well  of  the  others  because  you  will  have 
only  one  chance  at  them."  Present  forms  in  the  order  1,  2, 
3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8.  Allow  the  subject  to  feel  a  shape  no  longer 
than  ten  seconds. 

Record :  Record  by  number  each  choice  as  it  is  made. 

Evaluation :  A  score  is  given  in  percent,  100  for  a  perfect 
performance,  allowing  121/2%  for  each  choice.  This  score 
has  been  used  in  all  work  with  the  test. 

Notes.  This  test  was  developed  by  Mrs.  WooUey  as  an 
experiment  to  see  if  a  situation  could  be  presented  to  the 
children  which  would  clearly  involve  the  transfer  from  a 
kinesthetic  to  a  visual  impression.  The  test  was  kept  in 
the  series  when  it  was  made  up  on  the  basis  of  presenting 
a  range  of  situations  involving  varied  mental  adjustments. 
From  a  purely  objective  standard  the  situation  seems 
legitimate.  It  involves  the  type  of  discrimination  and  com- 
parison which  is  common  in  life  and  is  unlike  many  of  the 
other  tests  in  that  it  is  not  a  task  but  guides  the  subject 
through  a  series  of  similar  performances. 

Instruction  Box    Hayes) 

Materials:  Hayes  Instruction  Box.  Stop-watch.  The 
box  is  made  of  three-ply  %  i^^ch  board,  finished  in  brown 
varnish.  Cork  water  polo  balls  stained  with  red  and  green 
ink  are  used.  The  strips  on  the  covers  of  the  two  hinged 
boxes  are  of  shiny  black  paint  %  inch  wide.  The  three  sticks 
are  made  of  %  inch  dowel  stick,  finished  like  the  box.  The 
holes  in  the  end  of  the  box  are  arch  shape,  large  enough 
to  let  the  unpointed  end  of  the  stick  slip  in  and  out 
easily.    The  buttons  glued  to  the  bottom  of  the  four  open 


32 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


compartments  should  be  wired  in  as  the  subjects  often  try 
to  pry  them  oJff.    Ordinary  white  pearl  buttons  are  used. 

Instructions :  Present  box  with  long  axis  crosswise  to  the 
subject  and  with  the  red  ball  at  his  left.  The  box  with  the 
three  black  lines  on  the  cover,  containing  the  three  sticks 
should  be  toward  him.  Say,  ''You  see  this  box  with  all 
these  different  parts?"  Point  to  the  four  compartments 
and  lift  the  lids  of  the  covered  boxes  very  slightly.  "I  am 
going  to  ask  you  to  do  several  things  with  this  box  and  I 
want  you  to  listen  very  carefully  so  that  you  will  remember 
all  of  the  things  I  say  and  do  them  in  just  the  order  I  tell 
you.    First :  Open  the  part  of  the  box  that  has  three  black 


Fig.  6. — Instruction  Box  Dimensions. 

lines  on  the  cover.  Second:  Take  out  the  sJiortest  of  the 
three  sticks  you  will  find  there.  Then  put  the  pointed  end 
of  this  stick  into  the  hole  at  the  end  of  the  box  under  the 
red  ball.  Push  the  stick  in  as  far  as  it  will  go.  Next  take 
out  the  red  ball  and  put  it  into  the  part  of  the  box  that  has 
the  largest  number  of  buttons.  Lastly  put  the  stick  in  the 
part  of  the  box  that  has  two  hlack  lines  on  the  cover.  Now 
I  will  tell  you  again  so  that  you  will  be  sure  to  remember.'' 
Repeat  instructions  verbatim  from  ''First  open  the  part," 
etc.  Then  say, ' '  Now  go  ahead. ' '  Keep  the  box  out  of  sight 
until  used.  Remember  that  this  is  an  instruction  test,  and 
never  vary  in  the  least  from  the  verbatim  instructions.  En- 
couragement of  any  sort  should  be  avoided.    No  further 


o 

O 


6 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  33 

repetition  of  the  instructions  is  allowed  whether  asked  for 
or  not.  If  any  request  is  made,  simply  say,  "Go  ahead  and 
do  as  I  told  you."  Start  watch  immediately  after  *'Go 
ahead"  and  stop  it  when  stick  has  been  placed  in  the  box. 
Time  limit  of  three  minutes. 

Record  the  time  in  seconds  and  the  moves  as  follows, 
using  X  for  a  correct  move  and  giving  a  full  description  of 
an  incorrect  one. 

Moves: 

1.  Choosing  and  opening  correct  box. 

2.  Choosing  and  taking  correct  stick. 

3.  Choosing  and  taking  correct  ball. 

4.  Choosing  and  sticking  correct  end  of  stick  in  cor- 

rect hole. 

5.  Choosing  correct  box  and  putting  ball  in  it. 

6.  Choosing  correct  box  and  putting  stick  in  it. 

Evaluation :    Rules  for  scoring  moves. 

1.  Total  omission  of  a  move.  Credit  is  given  for  those 
moves  only  which  precede  the  one  omitted. 

2.  Interpolation  of  a  move  wholly  outside  the  instruc- 
tions. Credit  is  omitted  for  all  moves  following  the  inter- 
polated move. 

3.  Correction  of  an  incorrect  move.  "When  this  occurs 
before  another  move  has  been  made  it  does  not  constitute 
an  interpolated  move.  Neither  does  it  give  credit  for  the 
incorrect  move,  unless  the  correction  is  made  before  the 
false  start  is  completed. 

4.  Confusion  of  two  successive  moves.  Credit  is  omitted 
for  these  two  moves.  The  later  moves  in  the  series  are 
credited  if  properly  performed.  This  covers  the  case  in 
which  the  ball  is  lifted  out  with  the  fingers  before  the  stick 
is  used — whether  or  not  the  error  is  subsequently  corrected. 

5.  Confusion  of  more  than  two  successive  moves.  All 
the  moves  included  between  the  serial  limits  of  the  confusion 
are  omitted  from  credit. 


34  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

6.  Error  in  the  performance  of  any  move.  Where  some- 
thing is  done  to  represent  this  move  in  the  series,  and  where 
this  error  does  not  involve  any  other  moves  in  the  series, 
credit  is  omitted  for  this  move  alone.  Case  1.  Looking  in 
all  boxes  (including  covered  boxes)  before  putting  away 
the  ball  does  not  constitute  an  error  or  interpolation.  2. 
Spearing  the  ball,  prying  it  out  with  the  stick  or  discarding 
the  stick  and  using  fingers  alone,  constitutes  an  error  in 
move  3,  not  in  move  4.  3.  Taking  out  or  attempting  to  take 
out  the  green  ball  at  any  point  in  the  series,  constitutes  an 
interpolated  move.  4.  Digging  out  the  buttons  is  prohibited 
and  counts  as  an  interpolation.  5.  Putting  back  the  ball 
in  its  own  hole  counts  as  an  interpolated  move.  6.  Putting 
away  the  stick  (correctly  or  incorrectly^  immediately  after 
using  in  taking  out  the  ball,  counts  under  5  above,  and  takes 
away  credit  for  succeeding  moves.  7.  Opening  wrong  box 
first  for  move  1  or  6,  starting  to  move  the  green  ball  first, 
putting  ball  in  wrong  button  box,  taking  the  wrong  stick 
and  starting  to  use  stick  on  tojD  of  the  ball,  if  corrected 
before  another  move  is  made  count  as  an  error  in  this  move 
only. 

The  time  in  seconds  and  the  number  of  correct  moves 
are  noted  for  each  performance ;  the  latter  number  has  been 
used  for  the  norms  and  analysis. 

Notes:  Since  following  instructions  plays  such  a  large 
part  in  the  school  life  of  the  child,  this  box  was  devised 
as  an  attempt  to  present  a  standard  situation  involving 
understanding,  remembering,  and  carrying  out  specific  in- 
structions. The  difficulty  for  the  children  of  finding  the 
hole  at  the  end  of  the  box  and  their  failure  to  understand 
the  purpose  of  the  stick  introduces  a  mechanical  element 
that  should  be  eliminated.  A  more  elaborate  mechanical* 
box  would  undoubtedly  be  better,  as  it  would  then  be  pos- 
sible to  have  each  move  so  distant  that  evaluation  would  be 

*  Such  a  box  is  described  by  Healy  and  Fernald  in  Tests  for  Practical  Mental 
Classification,  Psychological  Monographs,  Vol.  XIII,  No.  2,  1911. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  35 

easier,  and  to  make  each  move  depend  on  the  one  preceding 
it  so  that  an  error  would  block  the  performance.  These 
two  changes  would  eliminate  the  factors  that  seem  to  com- 
plicate the  simple  instruction  situation  in  the  present  box. 

Needle  Threading  (Hayes-Dewey) 

Materials :  Five  steel  sewing  needles  sizes  7,  8,  9,  10,  and 
11.  Spool  of  Clark's  No.  100  unglazed  white  cotton  thread. 
Small  sharp  scissors.    Stop-watch. 

Instructions:  Say,  "You  know  how  to  thread  a  needle, 
don't  you?  Like  this  (illustrates  with  large  sample  needle 
No.  3.)  Take  the  needle  in  one  hand  and  the  thread  in  the 
other.  Now  see  how  quickly  you  can  thread  this  one." 
Present  needle  No.  7  and  thread  with  freshlj^  cut  end.  Re- 
peat procedure  with  smaller  needles  unless  the  subject  fails 
with  two  successive  needles.  Allow  him  to  use  his  own 
method,  with  one  limitation:  he  must  not  bite  the  thread. 
If  he  fails  on  one  needle  and  succeeds  on  the  next,  repeat 
the  failure.  Take  particular  care  to  see  that  he  faces  the 
light.  Time  limit  of  two  minutes  on  each  needle.  Encourage- 
ment is  often  necessary  to  keep  the  subject  working  at  one 
needle  for  two  minutes.  Be  sure  the  scissors  are  sharp, 
and  that  the  end  of  the  thread  is  not  frayed  in  cutting. 

Record:  Record  the  time  from  the  moment  thread  and 
needle  are  handed  to  the  subject  until  he  has  pulled  the 
thread  through  the  eye  of  the  needle;  the  niunber  of  each 
needle  threaded  and  of  each  failure. 

Evaluation :  The  time  in  seconds  is  noted  for  each  needle. 
The  number  of  needles  threaded  was  used  for  norms  and 
for  analysis. 

Nail  Driving  (Hayes-Dewey)' 

Materials :  Piece  of  oak  7x8  inches  and  1%  inches  thick. 
Brad  nails  No.  18,  measuring  %,  %,  1,  V^,  and  V/o  inches 
respectively.    Small  hammer,  steel  pincers.    Small  steel  rule 


36  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

marked  in  sixteenths  of  an  inch.  Five  wooden  nail  sets. 
Stop-watch.  The  oak  block  is  of  seasoned  wood  so  hard 
that  it  is  difficult  for  an  adult  to  drive  the  two  longer  nails 
in  without  touching  them.  The  nail  sets  are  used  to  insure 
each  nail  being  set  uniformly  before  being  given  to  the 
subject.  They  are  made  of  1x1  inch  wooden  blocks  one- 
fourth  of  an  inch  less  in  height  than  the  nail  to  be  set, 
through  which  a  hole  with  a  slightly  larger  diameter  than 
the  brad  is  bored.  These  sets  should  be  made  very  carefully 
with  the  upper  and  lower  surfaces  exactly  level  and  the  hole 
at  right  angles  to  them  or  it  will  be  impossible  to  set  the 
nails  straight. 

Instructions :  Say,  **  You  know  how  to  drive  a  nail,  don't 
you?  Take  this  hammer  and  hit  the  naU  on  the  head  but 
don't  touch  the  nail  with  the  other  hand.  Use  the  other 
hand  to  hold  the  board.  (Illustrate.)  I  want  you  to  see 
how  quickly  you  can  drive  it  clear  into  the  wood  but  be 
careful  not  to  bend  the  nail."  Set  the  third  nail  (one  inch 
length)  for  a  sample.  To  use  the  set  place  it  upon  the  oak 
block  and  hammer  the  nail  down  through  the  hole  in  the 
set  until  it  is  level  with  the  surface.  Then  remove  the  set. 
Have  the  subject  stand  in  front  of  the  table  and  hold  the 
block  with  his  left  hand.  Say,  *'This  is  a  sample  nail  to 
practice  with.  Hit  it  on  the  head  with  the  hammer  but 
don't  take  hold  of  it.  Try  not  to  bend  it  but  if  you  do,  you 
may  straighten  it  with  the  hammer  if  you  can.  Like  this" 
(illustrate).  Do  not  allow  the  subject  to  use  the  claw  end 
of  the  hammer  to  straighten  the  nails.  Correct  any  defects 
in  his  procedure  that  might  actually  interfere  with  final 
success  and  continue  the  practice  trial  until  he  seems  to 
have  some  conception  of  the  process  of  hammering  in  a  nail 
and  enough  force  to  drive  it  in,  straightening  it,  etc.,  how- 
ever do  not  extend  the  practice  greatly  over  two  minutes. 
Then  set  the  shortest  nail  and  say,  ''Now  let  me  see  how 
well  you  can  do  this  one."  Proceed  with  the  other  nails 
in  the  order  of  their  length.    Then  repeat  the  series.    Time 


y. 


^ 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  37 

limit  for  each  nail  one  minute.  Have  the  subject  continue 
until  the  time  limit  is  reached  or  the  nail  is  driven  clear  into 
the  wood  or  bent  in  a  curve  so  that  straightening  with  the 
hammer  is  impossible,  when  the  trial  should  be  stopped  and 
the  time  taken  as  sixty  seconds.  In  order  to  remove  and 
measure  a  nail  not  entirely  driven  into  the  block,  the  heavy 
steel  pincers  are  used.  Draw  the  nail  and  measure  the 
portion  embedded  in  the  block.*  Ask  the  subject  if  he  has 
driven  nails  before  and  record  the  answer. 

Record:  Record  the  time  in  seconds  and  the  distance 
each  nail  has  been  driven,  in  sixteenths  of  an  inch.  Denote 
a-  success  by  X. 

Evaluation:  The  niunber  of  nails  driven  in  completely 
was  noted,  the  total  time  in  seconds  for  the  ten  nails  and 
the  total  distance  in  sixteenths  of  an  inch  that  they  were 
driven  in  were  figured.  The  total  distance  is  the  value 
represented  in  the  norms  and  analj^sis. 

Notes:  Threading  needles  and  driving  nails  were  in- 
cluded in  the  series  since  we  desired  tests  of  muscular  ad- 
justments which  would  not  represent  a  purely  artificial 
situation  and  which  would  minimize  the  element  of  under- 
standing instructions.  The  administration  of  the  nail  driv- 
ing portion  of  the  test  is  so  complex  in  order  to  make  a 
standard  evaluation  possible  and  also  to  eliminate  as  far 
as  possible  factors  in  the  process  dependent  upon  experience. 
Having  decided  to  present  real  situations  we  found  that 
those  which  were  adaptable  were  usually  more  familiar  to 
one  sex  than  to  the  other.  Therefore  nail  driving  was  chosen 
as  an  activity  more  familiar  to  boys  and  needle  threading 
as  one  familiar  to  girls.  A  button  frame  which  had  to  be 
abandoned  was  intended  to  represent  a  situation  familiar 
to  both  sexes. 

The  difficulty  of  keeping  the  material  for  these  tests 

*  Since  the  tester  sets  each  nail  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  the  block  before 
handing  the  hammer  to  the  subject,  this  distance  must  be  substracted  from  the 
total  distance  which  the  nail  is  driven  into  the  wood. 


38  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

standard  is  considerable.  The  oak  blocks  are  not  always 
of  identical  hardness,  many  nails  are  not  straight  and  it  is 
imiDossible  to  cut  the  thread  so  that  the  ends  are  exactly 
alike.  Vision  plays  a  part  in  the  test,  particularly  in  thread- 
ing needles,  which  cannot  be  ignored. 

Problem  Box  (Hayes) 

Materials:     Hayes  Problem  Box,  set  with  six  levers. 
Stop-watch. 

Instructions :  Present  the  box  in  an  u]Dright  position  with 
the  door  facing  the  subject.  Say,  *'You  see  that  this  box 
has  a  small  door  here.  This  door  is  kept  closed  by  the  latch 
that  slides  across  the  edge  of  it.  (Indicate  step  6  and  the 
direction  of  its  movement).  As  soon  as  this  latch  is  moved, 
the  little  door  will  swing  open.  Now  I  want  you  to  see  if 
you  can  find  out  how  to  slide  the  latch  over  and  let  the 
door  open.  (Point  individually  to  each  of  the  six  levers.) 
Look  the  box  over  carefully  and  then  begin."  Time  limit, 
eight  minutes.  After  success  reset  the  box  where  the  subject 
cannot  see  the  process  and  say,  *'Now  see  how  quickly  you 
can  do  it  again."  Time  limit  two  minutes.  After  the 
second  success  say.  ^'Now  see  how  quickly  you  can  lock 
the  door  just  as  it  was  at  first."  Time  limit,  two  minutes. 
Keep  the  box  out  of  sight  until  it  is  used.  Do  not  explain 
or  reconstruct  after  a  failure.  Warn  the  subject  when  he 
is  using  unnecessary  force.  Say,  ^'They  will  all  move  easily 
when  you  get  them  right."  Prevent  him  from  slipping  one 
latch  out  and  over  another  or  over  a  screw.  When  the 
subject's  inability  to  move  a  latch  evidently  depends  upon 
the  latch's  sticking,  assist  him.    Ex. :  2  and  6. 

Record :  Record  each  move  and  attempted  move  of  the 
subject.  The  latch  which  slides  over  the  door  is  No.  6  and 
the  series  runs  back  from  this.  Indicate  opening  of  lever 
by  a  line  above  the  number  and  closing  by  a  line  below  it. 
iG-roup  simultaneous  movements  of  two  or  more  levers  by 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  39 

enclosing  them  in  a  line  or  bracket.  Indicate  a  prolonged 
pull  at  one  lever  by  a  wavy  line  under  it. 

Evaluation ;  The  total  number  of  moves ;  the  total  num- 
ber of  times  levers  are  opened  and  the  time  in  seconds  is 
noted  for  each  trial.  A  failure  is  counted  as  481''.  Owing 
to  the  difficulty  introduced  by  the  time  limit,  scores  were 
used  for  the  group  of  performances  represented  by  the 
Jewish  boys  and  girls  of  nine  to  thirteen  years  of  age.  These 
were  obtained  by  assigning  the  values  5,  4,  3,  2,  and  1  to 
each  twenty  percentile  group  of  the  ogive  for  seconds  for 
the  first  trial.  These  tables  were  made  up  from  the  curves, 
and  from  them  the  appropriate  score  is  found  for  each 
performance : 

Boys  Girls 

Seconds                        Score  Seconds                        Score 

1'  -  28" 5  1'  -  38" 5 

29"-  47" 4  39"-  64" 4 

48"- 78" 3  65"-119" 3 

79"-199" 2  120"-306" 2 

200"-481"  1  307"-481"  1 

We  give  the  percentage  of  subjects  succeeding  within  the 
time  limit ;  norms  for  the  score  and  distribution  curves  for 
all  age  groups.  The  results  for  the  second  and  third  trial 
are  not  given  since  they  seem  to  be  useful  chiefly  as  a  com- 
ment on  the  eccentric  performance. 

Picture  Completion  (Healy) 

Materials :  Healy  picture  completion  board  and  pieces.* 
Four  blank  pieces  were  used  instead  of  the  ten  that  come 
with  the  board,  making  a  total  of  forty-four  pieces.  The 
pieces  were  arranged  in  four  rows  of  eleven  pieces,  in  a 
grooved  box  so  that  they  could  be  propped  up  in  front  of 

*  Healy,  W.  A.,  A  Picture  Completion  Test,  Psychological  Review,  1914,  21. 
Pintner  and  Anderson:  The  Picture  Completion  Test.  Educational  Psychology, 
Monograph,  1917,  No.  20. 


40  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

the  subject;  the  flying  bird,  football,  and  log  in  the  top  row, 
the  broken  window  and  the  dog  in  the  second  row,  and  the 
apples,  cat,  and  hat  in  the  third  row ;  the  chicken  and  wheel 
in  the  bottom  row.  The  one-credit  pieces  are  scattered 
among  the  others.    Stop-watch. 

Instructions :  Place  the  pictures  in  front  of  the  subject. 
Prop  the  box  containing  the  pieces  behind  the  picture  and 
facing  the  subject.  Say,  ^'Any  one  of  these  pieces  will  fit 
in  any  of  the  holes.  They  are  all  the  same  shape  and  size 
but  they  have  different  pictures  on  them.  What  I  want 
you  to  do  is  to  find  a  piece  to  put  in  each  hole  that  will 
complete  the  picture  and  make  sense  of  it.  For  instance, 
what  is  missing  here  ?  (Point  to  place  for  the  wheel.)  You 
see  the  man  and  the  wagon,  now  what  is  needed  to  finish 
the  picture?  (Ask  enough  questions  to  obtain  the  correct 
answer.)  See  if  you  can  find  a  wheel  to  put  in  there.  Yes. 
That  is  right.  Now  that  is  what  I  want  you  to  do  with  each 
of  the  holes.  Look  carefully  at  the  picture  and  see  what 
is  missing.  Then  look  at  the  pieces  and  find  the  one  that 
you  need  to  make  sense."  Put  the  wheel  back  among  the 
other  pieces  and  say,  ''Now  go  ahead."  Start  watch  as 
the  subject  begins  to  study  the  picture  and  stop  it  as  the 
last  piece  is  put  in.  Time  limit  of  eight  minutes.  When 
the  time  limit  has  been  reached  or  the  subject  has  filled  all 
the  holes,  note  the  time  and  check  the  record  of  moves  to 
that  point.  Part  11.  Then  say,  ''Now  look  at  the  pieces 
carefully  and  see  if  they  are  all  right.  You  may  change 
any  of  them  that  you  wish."  The  subject  was  allowed  to 
work  for  two  minutes  more  on  the  picture  unless  he  said 
it  was  all  right  immediately. 

Record :  Record  the  time  in  seconds  and  each  piece  put 
in,  removed  or  exchanged  by  the  subject,  for  Parts  I  and  II 
separately. 

Evaluation :  Score  the  pieces  as  they  stand  when  the  last 
piece  is  put  in  before  the  suggestion  to  correct  errors  is 
given.     The  pieces  were  scored  according  to  the  values 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  41 

assigned  by  Dr.  Healy,  each  correct  piece  receiving  two 
points  and  the  following  pieces  one  point  eack.; 

Correct  Piece  Alternate — One  Point 

Window Unbroken  window 

Football Baseball 

Flying  Bird Standing  bird,  blank 

Chicken .Mouse,  cat 

Cat  ..X.:. Cat  from  rear 

Hat Purse 

Log Axe 

Basket  .: Baby 

Part  II  was  given  since  Dr.  Healy  includes  such  a  sugges- 
tion in  his  instructions  for  the  test ;  but  the  changes  made 
were  not  recognized  in  giving  the  score  since  we  have  con- 
sistently foUowed  the  plan  of  getting  the  subject's  imme- 
diate reactions,  without  giving  supplementary  instructions 
which  might  prove  helpful.  Norms  are  given  for  the  score 
and  time  in  seconds  for  the  unprompted  performance  and 
for  the  index  which  represents  the  actual  relation  of  time 
and  score  for  the  Jewish  boys  and  girls  of  nine  to  thirteen 
years.  The  index  is  the  value  selected  for  analysis  of  the 
test  and  is  figured  from  the  following  formulae  :* 

BOTS  GiBLS 

10.803+0. 134E-0.003T  11.070+0.099E-0.0017T 

Substitute  the  time  in  seconds  and  the  score  for  T  and  E 
respectively,  and  the  result  is  the  score  for  the  individual. 

Notes:  Owing  to  the  impressionistic  drawing  of  some  of 
the  pieces  the  subjects  were  unable  to  identify  the  pictures. 
The  most  frequent  example  of  this  was  the  broken  window 
which  was  repeatedly  called  a  spider.  The  football  and 
baseball  also  gave  trouble  frequently  enough  to  be  noted. 

The  number  of  nonsense  pieces  put  in  was  very  large, 

*These  formulse  represent  the  regression  of  score  and  time  on  age. 


42  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

which  would  indicate  that  the  instructions  were  not  always 
adequate  for  a  real  understanding  of  the  problem.  The 
children  did  not  consistently  follow  the  instruction  that  they 
look  at  the  picture  and  decide  what  was  needed  and  then 
look  for  the  proper  piece;  but  they  looked  at  the  board 
as  a  whole  and  then  picked  out  a  promising  piece  and  tried 
it  in  several  different  holes.  It  also  seemed  quite  likely 
that  many  of  the  worst  mistakes  could  be  accounted  for  by 
the  extreme  unfamiliarity  of  our  group  of  children  with 
the  scenes  depicted  in  the  picture.  The  majority  of  the 
subjects  had  never  been  in  the  coimtry,  had  seen  parks 
only  at  rare  intervals,  and  had  never  seen  the  activities  of 
the  picture  taking  place.  Some  subjects  even  asked  what 
the  apple  tree  was. 

Memory  for  Objects  (Ellis) 

Materials :  Set  of  ten  Ellis  memory  objects ;  *  strip  of 
manilla  paper ;  stop-watch. 

Instructions:  Say,  *'Now  I  am  going  to  show  you  some 
interesting  things,  and  as  I  put  each  one  down  you  tell 
what  it  is.  What  is  this?  And  thisT^  etc.  Put  the  ten 
objects  down,  one  at  a  time,  in  front  of  the  subject  in  a 
row  beginning  at  his  left.  (Use  strip  of  manilla  paper 
under  them.)  Use  the  order  listed  below  and  wait  for  him 
to  name  each  object  before  putting  down  the  next.  If  he 
calls  any  object  by  a  name  that  may  result  in  its  confusion 
with  another  object,  ask  him  to  look  again.  If  necessary 
tell  him  what  it  is.  (Calling  the  dog  a  horse  may  confuse 
it  with  the  horse  and  rider.)  Aside  from  this  limitation 
allow  him  entire  freedom  in  the  terms  he  employs.  After 
all  the  objects  are  named  say,  *'Now  I  want  you  to  tell  me 
again  what  each  of  the  objects  is  and  notice  the  order  in 
which  they  come.    After  that  I  am  going  to  take  them  all 

*  Set  of  objects  may  be  obtained  from  Mr.  F.  W.  Ellis,  Neurological  Institute, 
New  York  City. 


H 
O 

1-5 

pa 
O 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  43 

away  and  I  want  you  to  ask  me  for  them  in  just  the  order 
they  are  in  now.  So  be  sure  to  remember  how  they  come." 
Point  to  each  object  from  1  to  10  and  allow  the  subject  to 
name  it.  Then  take  all  the  objects  away  and  say,  **What 
came  first?  Yes,  then  what?"  etc.  As  the  subject  names 
the  objects  place  them  in  a  row  from  left  to  right  in  front 
of  him.  If  he  fails  for  30''  to  name  any  particular  object, 
say,  "Well,  what  comes  after  that?"  At  the  end  of  the 
series,  if  any  objects  have  been  omitted  allow  him  to  supply 
them.  Say, ''Is  that  all?  Are  there  any  others?" 
Order  of  presentation: 

1234  5  6789        10 

Hat    Car    Dog    Shoe    Rider    Gun    Chair    Axe    Cup    Hen 

Record:  Record  the  series  as  called  for  by  the  subject, 
using  X  to  represent  an  object  correctly  placed.  If  he  says 
he  does  not  know  what  comes  in  a  certain  space  but  thinks 
there  was  something  there,  leave  space  for  this. 

Evaluation:  Perfect  performance— 100%.  In  an  incor- 
rect performance  credit  10  for  each  object  correctly  placed. 
Deduct  1  for  each  place  an  object  must  be  moved  to  bring 
it  to  the  correct  position.  This  value  in  percents  was  used 
for  all  work  with  the  test. 

Notes:  *  The  test  was  not  given  in  the  complete  form 
used  by  Mr.  Ellis  because  it  was  impossible  to  assign 
numerical  values  to  the  purely  qualitative  associations  he 
calls  for.  However,  the  test  seemed  worth  including  because 
in  form  it  is  much  like  the  rote  memory  tests  in  conmion 
use,  but  it  has  a  strong  affective  factor.  The  little  objects 
are  interesting  to  children,  making  sufficient  appeal  so  that 
they  stop  and  examine  the  objects,  exclaiming  over  them. 
This  introduces  a  recognition  factor  which  complicates  the 

*  Ellis,  F.  W.,  and  Bingham,  Anna  L.:  Report  of  Mental  Examinations, 
Seventh  Annual  Report  of  the  New  York  Neurological  Institute.  For  another 
method  of  giving  the  test  see:  Agencies  in  Social  Welfare,  Bulletin  of  State  Board 
of  Charities  of  New  York,  No.  VIII,  1917. 


44  METHODS  AND   RESULTS  OF 

situation  beyond  that  where  the  subject  simply  reproduces 
the  material  without  meaning  for  him.  The  comparison 
of  the  two  ty^es  of  performance  should  be  interesting  for 
the  study  of  the  individual. 

Knox  Cubes 

Materials:  Four  one-inch  cubes  mounted  on  a  narrow 
board,  two  inches  apart  and  one  single  cube,  made  of  dark 
varnished  wood.* 

Instructions :  Lay  the  cubes  on  the  table  in  front  of  the 
subject.  Say,  "Watch  carefully  and  then  do  as  I  do.'' 
Take  the  single  cube  and  begin  tapping  the  blocks  at  a 
constant  rate  (about  one  per  second.)  Always  begin  with 
the  cube  at  the  subject's  left.  Never  repeat  a  line,  even 
if  the  subject  goes  through  the  line  from  the  wrong  end. 
If  the  subject  does  unusually  well,  question  him  as  to  his 
method  and  make  a  note  of  the  kind  of  counting  that  would 
help  him  remember.    Tap  the  cubes  in  the  following  order : 

a— 1  2  3  4  e— 1  3  2  4  3  h—1  4  3  12  4 

6—1  3  2  4  /—I  4  3  2  4  i— 1  3  2  4  1  3 

c— 1  4  3  2  g—1  3  12  4  j— 1  4  2  3  4  1 
d—1  4  2  3 

Record:  Let  x  represent  the  correct  reproduction  of  a 
series.  Record  the  series  as  given  by  the  subject  in  case 
of  an  incorrect  reproduction. 

Evaluation :  Score  each  series  as  plus  or  minus  and  add 
the  pluses;  perfect  reproduction  of  all  the  series— 10. 

Notes:  In  using  this  test  we  made  the  mistake  of  fixing 
the  amount  that  should  be  required  for  subjects  of  different 
ages.  (See  notes  on  Digits.)  The  variation  is  so  wide 
within  an  age  group  that  unless  the  test  is  to  be  evaluated 
as  an  age  level  test,  the  material  should  be  given  complete 

*  Knox,  H.  A.:  A  Scale  Based  on  the  Work  at  Ellis  Island  for  Estimating 
Mental  Defect.  Journal  of  American  Medical  Association,  1914,  p.  62.  Pintner, 
R. :  The  Standardization  of  Knox  Cube  Test,  Psychological  Review,  1915,  p.  27. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  45 

to  all  the  subjects.  We  present  norms  for  eleven  to  thirteen 
year  old  children  and  the  complete  results  are  presented 
in  the  form  used  by  Pintner.  In  making  comparisons,  how- 
ever, it  should  be  noted  that  the  practice  trials  x  and  y 
were  not  used. 


Healy  Construction  Puzzle  "A" 

Materials:  Healy  *'A"  puzzle;  frame  and  five  pieces.* 
Stop-watch. 

Instructions :  Present  frame  and  pieces  to  the  subject  as 
shown  in  cut  Nos.  11a  and  lib.  Say,  * '  You  see  this  frame  and 
these  pieces.  If  you  put  these  pieces  in  here  just  right,  they 
will  all  go  in  and  just  fill  up  the  space  and  no  pieces  will  be 
left  over.  Now  you  go  ahead  and  see  how  quickly  you  can 
get  them  all  in.  '^  Start  the  watch  as  soon  as  the  instructions 
are  finished.  Stop  it  when  the  last  piece  is  put  in  correctly. 
If  the  puzzle  is  not  completed  at  the  end  of  eight  minutes 
stop  the  test.  If  it  is  done  within  eight  minutes,  turn  the 
pieces  out  and  arrange  as  before.  Then  say,  "Yes,  that  was 
right.  Now  let 's  see  you  do  it  again. ' '  Care  should  be  taken 
to  turn  the  pieces  out  immediately  upon  its  completion,  even 
before  the  time  is  recorded.  Eight  minute  time  limit  for 
second  trial  if  necessary. 

Record:  Record  the  time  in  seconds  for  each  per- 
formance and  the  subject's  moves  in  the  following  way: 

/=correct  move 
V=incorrect  move 
X=impossible  move 

Always  note  the  turning  out  of  all  the  pieces  for  a  fresh 
start,  and  the  completion  of  the  puzzle  with  the  exception 
of  placing  pieces  4  and  5.    The  correctness  of  the  position 

*  Healy  and  Fernald:  Tests  for  Practical  Mental  Classification,  Psychological 
Monographs,  Vol.  XIII,  No.  2,  1911. 


46 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


of  2,  3,  4,  or  5  is  always  to  be  judged  with  reference  to  the 
pieces  ah^eady  in  place,  i.e.,  the  same  piece  may  be  either 
right  or  wrong  depending  on  what  has  preceded  it.  Any 
position  of  a  piece  which,  if  not  altered,  will  block  the  com- 
pletion of  the  problem  in  an  incorrect  position.    An  impos- 


Fia.  11a. — Position  of  Pieces  for  Healy     A." 


sible  move  is  the  attempt  to  force  a  piece  into  a  space  too 
small  for  it. 

Evaluation:  Note  the  number  of  right,  wrong,  and 
impossible  moves ;  the  total  number  of  moves  and  the  time 
in  seconds  for  both  trials.  Record  a  failure  as  481''.  The 
second  trial  was  given  as  an  aid  in  evaluating  the  test 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


47 


situation  and  in  order  to  furnish  additional  data  on  the 
eccentric  child;  hence  the  results  are  not  presented  here. 
The  time  for  the  first  performance  was  selected  as  the  test 
value,  since  moves  and  time  correspond  very  closely.  The 
percent  of  failures,  distribution  curves  for  the  age  groups 
and  norms  for  the  score  are  presented.  The  scores  are 
assigned  from  the  following  tables  which  were  made  from 


Fig.  11&. — Position  of  Pieces  for  Healy  "A." 

the  ogive  for  the  nine  to  thirteen  year  Jewish  boys  and 
girls,  by  giving  a  score  of  five  to  the  highest  20  percent,  four 
to  the  next  20  percent,  etc.    (See  notes  on  Problem  Box.) 


Boys 
Seconds  Score 

l'-35" 5 

36"-  78" 4 

79"-143" 3 

144"-278" 2 

279"-481" 1 


Girls 
Seconds  Score 

1'-  40" 5 

41"- 88" 4 

89"-152" 3 

153"-350" 2 

351"-481" 1 


48  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Healy  Construction  Puzzle  "B" 

Materials:  Healy  *'B"  puzzle  form  and  eleven  pieces.* 
Stop-watch. 

Instructions :  Identical  with  those  for  Healy  A. 
Record :  Record  the  moves  as  follows : 

/=correct  move 
V=^incorrect  move 
X=impossible  move 

A  correct  move  is  the  placing  of  a  piece  in  the  correct 
position  or  the  removal  of  a  piece  from  an  incorrect  posi- 
tion. An  incorrect  move  is  the  incorrect  placing  of  a  piece 
or  the  removal  of  a  piece  already  correctly  placed.  The 
removal  of  a  piece  from  an  impossible  position  counts  as 
a  correct  move.  Special  note  should  be  taken  of  the  repeti- 
tion of  incorrect  or  impossible  combinations  and  the  inter- 
change of  interchangeable  pieces.  Draw  the  stand  of  the 
puzzle  in  case  of  a  failure. 

Evaluation:  Figure  for  each  trial  the  time  in  seconds 
and  the  number  of  right,  wrong,  and  impossible  moves  and 
the  total  number  of  moves.  Because  of  the  large  number 
of  failures  it  was  impossible  to  score  the  cases  from  the 
distribution  as  in  Healy  A,  but  the  method  of  giving  the 
test  and  the  results  in  seconds  are  included  in  this  volume 
because  with  the  extension  of  the  time  limit  the  test  should 
be  applicable  to  such  a  group  of  children. 

In  making  records  the  removal  of  a  piece  was  recorded 
as  well  as  its  placing  in  order  to  get  as  complete  a  picture 
of  the  performance  as  possible.  A  removal  has  as  much 
to  do  with  the  speedy  or  slow  completion  of  the  problem 
as  placing  a  piece.    Filling  the  frame  involves  the  solution 

*  Healy  and  Fernald:  Tests  for  Practical  Mental  Classification,  Psychological 
Monographs,  Vol.  XIII,  No.  2,  1911. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


49 


of  a  single  geometrical  problem  of  space  relation — a  puzzle 
situation.    In  our  attempt  to  get  into  quantitative  terms 


O 


Fig.  12. — Position  of  Pieces  for  Healy  "B." 

the  slant  on  eccentricities  which  such  tests  give  it  seemed 
worth  while  to  take  a  record  which  would  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible reproduce  the  performance. 


60  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Notes  on  Healy  Puzzles  and  Problem  Box:  The  record- 
ing and  evaluation  of  Healy  *' A''  and  ''B"  present  peculiar 
difficulties  for  the  mass  use  of  material.  Clinical  psychol- 
ogists have  found  this  type  of  test  particularly  helpful  in 
the  diagnosis  of  the  individual.  Therefore  in  order  to  dis- 
cover whether  these  qualitative  values  would  appear  in  an 
objective  history  of  a  performance  we  decided  to  take  as 
full  records  as  possible.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  tester 
in  watching  a  subject  fitting  the  pieces  into  the  frame  feels 
that  he  is  getting  a  picture  of  the  subject's  method  of  attack 
and  powers  of  carrying  through  a  task  that  is  afforded  by 
few  other  tests.  While  certain  types  of  performance  stand 
out  definitely,  an  analysis  of  any  one  performance  on  its 
completion  usually  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  subject 
had  followed  more  than  one  method  and  that  in  each  case 
the  methods  overlapped.  Although  to  us  who  have  used 
the  tests  the  notes  on  the  record  blanks  often  suggest  the 
performance,  we  were  unable  to  find  anything  in  the  uniform 
records  of  the  moves  that  could  be  used  as  a  numerical 
measure  of  the  kind  of  performance  that  took  place.  Even 
if  a  qualitative  value  had  developed  it  would  still  have  been 
necessary  to  determine  its  significance. 

The  tests  are,  however,  suitable  for  quantitative  use, 
although  they  present  difficulties  not  found  in  tests  where 
it  is  possible  to  score  the  amount  accomplished  in  spite  of 
errors.  This  is  also  true  of  the  Problem  Box.  The  available 
time  in  testing  a  large  number  of  children  makes  it  neces- 
sary to  set  a  limit  to  the  time  allowed  any  one  child  to  work 
on  a  test.  Even  with  a  limit  of  eight  minutes  the  number 
of  failures  was  so  large  among  our  subjects  that  these  cases 
could  not  be  ignored,  nor  could  they  be  treated  as  of  equal 
value  since  some  subjects  may  have  been  about  to  finish  the 
test  while  others  may  have  been  as  far  from  success  as  when 
they  started,  and  there  is  nothing  in  what  has  been  accom- 
plished to  justify  an  evaluation  of  the  incomplete  perform- 
ance.   Therefore  when  the  number  of  failures  is  sufficient 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  61 

to  be  recognized  as  occurring  normally,  the  test  becomes  an 
all  or  none  test.  But  the  value  of  the  results  would  be 
unnecessarily  limited  if  a  subject  were  scored  simply  plus 
or  minus  for  the  test.  The  time  in  seconds  or  the  number 
of  moves  gives  an  excellent  distribution  of  the  successes.  A 
descriptive  use  of  the  tests  is  of  course  possible  where  the 
failures  do  not  constitute  over  a  quarter  of  the  group,  this 
method  permitting  the  comparison  of  an  individual  case 
with  the  normal  as  represented  by  the  total  group  tested, 
but  still  not  giving  a  quantitative  value  which  can  be  used 
comparably  with  the  values  for  the  other  tests.  We  there- 
fore were  forced  either  to  disregard  the  test  for  analytical 
purposes  or  give  each  subject  a  score  which  represented  the 
relative  position  of  his  performance  in  the  distribution  of 
the  total  group.    The  latter  course  was  chosen. 

Card  Sorting  (Jastrow) 

Materials:  Jastrow  card-sorting  apparatus  with  pack 
of  48  cards  with  red,  yellow,  blue,  and  green  discs  ;*  stop- 
watch. 

Instructions:  Place  the  box  in  front  of  the  subject  so 
that  he  can  drop  the  cards  in  easily;  i.e.,  with  his  hip  on 
a  level  with  the  upper  front  edge  of  the  box.  Be  sure  the 
light  falls  directly  on  the  color  discs  and  never  in  the  sub- 
ject's eyes.  Say,  '*Do  you  see  this  box  with  the  four  parts 
and  a  color  on  each  part?  Do  you  know  what  colors  they 
are?  What  is  this?  and  this?"  etc.  If  the  subject  camiot 
name  the  colors  have  him  match  them  with  the  cards.  ''Now 
each  one  of  these  cards  is  marked  with  one  of  those  colors. 
(Show  several.)  What  I  want  you  to  do  is  to  drop  each 
one  of  these  cards  into  the  part  of  the  box  marked  with 
its  own  color  and  see  how  fast  you  can  do  it.  Drop  all 
the  cards  with  the  red  in  here  (indicating  motion  of  drop- 

*  Jastrow,  J.:    A  Sorting  Apparatus  for  the  Study  of  the  Reaction-Times. 
Psychological  Review,  1898,  51. 


52  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

ping)  etc.  If  you  should  make  a  mistake  and  drop  a  card 
into  the  wrong  part  of  the  box,  do  not  stop  to  change  it; 
that  would  take  too  long.  Just  go  right  ahead  and  see  how 
fast  you  can  get  them  all  done.  You  use  your  right  hand  ? 
Take  the  pack  in  your  left  hand  (right  hand  for  left-handed 
child,  present  pack  back  upwards)  and  when  I  say  'Now 
begin,'  turn  the  whole  pack  over  (illustrate)  and  start  drop- 
ping them  in  one  by  one  as  fast  as  you  can."  Place  the  sub- 
ject directly  in  front  of  the  box  with  the  cards  in  his  left 
hand.  Say,  ''Now  begin."  Start  watch  after  pack  is  turned 
over  and  just  as  the  subject  picks  off  the  first  card.  Stop  it 
as  the  last  card  leaves  his  hand.  Give  a  second  trial  sajdng, 
"Now  let's  see  how  fast  you  can  do  it  again.  Do  it  just 
the  same  way.  Turn  the  pack  over  when  I  say  'Now  begin' 
and  start  dropping  them  in  as  fast  as  yoi:  :?an."  Take  the 
time  as  in  the  first  trial.  Correct  the  subject  if  he  does  not 
turn  over  the  whole  pack,  and  prevent  his  correcting  errors. 
Always  arrange  the  cards  in  the  pack  in  a  fix:ed  order  so 
that  the  colors  alternate  in  the  following  way : 

G R B Y 

G Y B R 

G B R Y 

G Y B R 

Y B R G 

Y G R B 

Y R B G 

Y G R B 

R Y G B 

R B Y G 

R G Y B 

R B G Y 

Record :  Record  the  number  of  seconds  and  of  errors  for 
each  trial.  Note  the  nature  of  the  errors,  as  R  in  B,  Y,  or 
G,  etc. 

Evaluation:  Figure  the  time  in  seconds  for  each  per- 
formance, and  the  accuracy  in  per  cent :  100%  for  a  perfect 
performance,  and  the  number  of  errors  divided  by  the  total 
number  of  cards  (48)  for  a  performance  with  errors.    The 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  63 

number  of  errors  was  so  small  and  made  such  an  insig- 
nificant differentiation  of  the  subjects  compared  with  the 
time,  that  time  for  the  faster  performance  was  chosen  as 
the  value  for  all  work  with  the  test. 

Notes:  Woolley  Indices.  The  method  used  by  Mrs. 
Woolley  in  computing  indices  for  tests  where  it  was  desired 
to  express  a  combination  of  speed  and  excellence  of  per- 
formance in  a  single  numerical  value*  is  to  divide  the  time 
in  seconds  by  the  percent  of  accuracy.  Mrs.  Woolley  speaks 
of  the  indices  as  the  estimated  time  for  a  perfect  perform- 
ance, but  she  herself  points  out  some  of  the  reasons  why 
even  on  apriori  grounds  it  is  not  safe  to  assume  that  a 
longer  time  results  in  fewer  errors.  Chief  of  these  is  the 
fact  that  errors  of  which  the  subject  is  conscious  nearly 
always  cause  hesitations  and  pauses  which  appreciably 
lengthen  the  time.  Too  much  haste  is  by  no  means  the  only 
reason  for  errors.  Therefore,  in  spite  of  certain  advantages 
of  simplicity,  we  rejected  this  index  because  it  involves 
assumptions  which  are  difficult  to  maintain.  Where  we  have 
used  indices  for  tests  of  this  kind,  we  have  combined  speed 
and  accuracy  in  such  a  way  that  the  index  might  have  the 
highest  possible  differentiating  value  between  children  of 
different  ages  within  the  age  limits  of  this  study. 

Cancellation  (Woolley) 

Materials :  Stoelting  cancellation  blanks  of  small  letters ; 
one  canceled  and  one  fresh.    Stop-watch. 

Instructions:  Take  one  Jipl  and  one  zcy  sheet,  one  of 
them  canceled.  Turn  the  new  sheet  face  down  in  front 
of  the  subject.  Pointing  to  the  other  say,  ''You  see  this 
sheet  with  all  these  letters  printed  in  rows.  The  other  side 
of  this  sheet  is  just  like  it.  Now  what  I  want  you  to  do 
is  to  go  through  that  sheet  row  by  row,  and  draw  a  line 
through  every  *a'  you  come  to,  and  see  how  fast  you  can  get 

*Gard  Sorting,  Cancellation,  Substitution. 


54  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

tlie  page  done.  Do  it  just  as  they  are  done  here. '^  (Show  the 
sample  sheet  making  sure  that  the  subject  understands.) 
"Be  careful  to  mark  only  the  'a's.'  If  you  should  make  a 
mistake  and  mark  the  wrong  letter,  don't  stop  to  rub  it  out 
or  try  to  change  it  for  that  would  take  too  long.  Just  go 
right  ahead.  I  want  you  to  mark  every  *a'  on  the  page 
and  see  how  fast  you  can  get  it  done."  Turn  over  the  new 
sheet  and  say,  *'Now  go  ahead."  Start  the  watch  when  the 
subject  begins  to  look  at  the  first  line  and  stop  it  when  his 
eyes  leave  the  last  line.  The  first  few  lines  should  be  care- 
fully watched  and  any  errors  in  procedure  corrected  at  once. 
For  instance  correct  scrubbing  out  the  ''a's,"  making  a  cross 
through  them,  underlining  them  instead  of  marking  them, 
etc. 

Record:  Record  the  time  in  seconds.  There  is  no  time 
limit. 

Evaluation :  Always  use  an  evaluation  stencil.  Place  it 
over  the  page  so  that  all  fifty  "a's"  are  visible.  Write  on 
the  right  margin  of  each  row  of  the  blank  the  number  of 
"a's"  correctly  marked  by  the  subject,  and  in  the  left 
margin  the  number  of  omissions.  Indicate  letters  wrongly 
crossed  by  a  minus  in  the  margin.  Take  away  the  sheet 
and  mark  any  other  letters  crossed.  A  line  running  between 
two  letters,  an  "a"  and  another  letter  and  touching  neither, 
no  error.  A  single  line  crossing  the  **a"  which  runs  into 
part  of  another  letter,  no  error.  If  both  "a"  and  the  next 
letter  are  equally  crossed,  no  error.  A  line  made  so  carelessly 
that  it  crosses  the  letter  next  the  ''a"  instead  of  the  ''a" 
is  counted  an  error.  If  the  line  touches  the  "a"  at  all, 
count  the  **a"  too.  Scrubbing  the  "a"  (not  several  distinct 
lines)  so  that  the  adjacent  letters  are  touched,  no  error. 
Making  a  second  line  to  correct  the  first  if  either  line  passes 
through  a  letter  other  than  the  ''a,"  count  the  "a"  and  a 
minus  one  for  a  letter  incorrectly  crossed. 

If  no  wrong  letters  are  crossed  figure  the  percent  of 
accuracy  directly  from  the  number  of  *'a's"  crossed  (50  on 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  55 

a  sheet) .  If  wrong  letters  have  been  crossed,  find  the  per- 
cent of  accuracy  by  dividing  the  number  of  '*a's"  crossed 
by  fifty  plus  the  nmnber  of  letters  incorrectly  crossed. 

An  index  representing  the  relation  of  time  and  accuracy 
for  the  nine  to  thirteen  year  Jewish  boys  and  girls  was 
made.  This  was  used  for  all  work  with  the  test  and  is 
figured  from  the  following  formulae  ;* 

Substitute  the  time  in  seconds  and  the  accuracy  in  per- 
cent for  T  and  E  respectively ;  the  result  is  the  score  for  the 
individual. 

BoTS  Girls 

11.379H-0.027E-0.007T  10.629+0.035E-0.007T. 

Notes:  In  making  the  rules  for  letters  incorrectly  crossed 
the  attempt  was  made  to  prevent  penalizing  for  a  careless 
use  of  the  pencil  due  to  haste.  However,  since  the  instruc- 
tions include  an  illustration  of  the  best  method  of  canceling 
and  the  warning  not  to  correct  errors,  it  seems  fair  to  count 
as  an  error  a  letter  which  was  crossed  owing  to  a  faulty 
method  even  when  the  correct  letter  was  intended  or  marked 
as  well.  The  rules  were  made  after  considerable  experience 
in  evaluating  the  blanks,  and  seem  to  us  to  follow  the 
emphasis  of  the  instructions  as  fairly  as  arbitrary  rules 
can.  But  the  fact  that  such  complex  rules  are  necessary 
in  using  the  blank  may  be  considered  a  fault  in  the  test.  The 
difficulties  which  we  found  in  using  the  test  all  seem  trace- 
able to  the  type  of  blank  used.  The  test  is  noticeably  hard 
on  some  subjects'  eyes;  and  it  seems  certain  that  eyesight 
plays  a  fairly  important  part  in  the  test.  The  instructions 
are  not  always  adequate.  The  difficulty  of  making  a  child 
understand  without  any  learning  period  the  necessity  of 
making  one  single  line  so  carefully  that  it  will  hit  only 
the  ''a"  and  still  hurrying  through  the  blank  as  fast  as 
possible  is  considerable.  If  the  letters  were  larger  the  effect 
of  the  manual  precision  of  the  subject  would  be  practically 
eliminated,  and  it  would  be  possible  to  place  due  emphasis 

*  These  formulae  represent  the  regression  of  accuracy  and  time  on  age. 


56  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

on  speed  without  handicapping  accuracy.*     (See  note  on 
Card  Sorting.) 


Substitution  (Woolley) 

Materials:  Woolley  Substitution  blanks;  key  card  and 
holder ;  card-board  cover ;  stop-watch. 

Instructions:  Stand  key  card  in  front  of  the  subject. 
Give  him  substitution  blank  1.  Say,  "You  see  this  page  of 
figures?  On  this  card  there  are  just  the  same  figures  but 
each  figure  has  a  number  on  it.  What  I  want  you  to  do 
is  to  write  in  each  figure  on  this  page  the  number  that  you 
see  in  the  same  figure  on  the  card.  For  instance  what  would 
you  put  in  here?''  Point  to  one  of  the  confusional  pairs. 
If  the  subject  makes  an  error,  say  "No,  look  again.''    And 


□  r^  A  H  ><S>  U  ^  [I 


Fig.  13. — Substitution  Key  Card. 

in  here ?  (Point  to  one  of  the  unique  figures.)  Begin  here 
at  the  top  of  the  page  and  fill  in  the  figures  in  rows  just 
as  you  come  to  them.  As  you  finish  each  row  I  will  cover 
it  up  with  this  piece  of  paper.  (Illustrate  several  rows.) 
Now  begin  and  see  how  fast  you  can  get  it  done."  When 
the  first  page  is  finished,  record  the  time  on  it  and  turn  to 
page  2  and  say,  "Now  fill  in  this  page  and  see  how  much 
faster  you  can  do  it."  Record  time  at  end  of  page.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  third  page,  say  "Now  see  how  much 
faster  you  can  get  this  page  done  and  when  it  is  done,  I  am 
going  to  take  away  the  card  and  let  you  do  this  page  (show 

*  For  Cancellation,  Substitution,  Digits,  Card  Sorting,  Strength  and  Steadiness, 
see  Woolley  and  Fischer:  Mental  and  Physical  Measurements  of  Working  Children, 
Psychological  Monograph,  Vol.  XVIII,  No.  1. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  57 

4)  without  it,  just  from  memory."  Turn  down  the  key  card 
as  soon  as  the  subject  finishes  page  3.  Record  the  time. 
Turn  up  page  4  and  say,  "Now  go  ahead."  Start  the  watch 
as  the  subject  starts  to  look  at  the  first  figure  on  a  page 
and  stop  it  as  he  writes  in  the  last  figure  on  that  page.  Be 
sure  to  cover  each  line  as  he  finishes  it.  Watch  the  first 
few  lines  of  page  1  carefully  and  if  the  subject  has  mis- 
understood the  directions,  correct  him  at  once ;  if  he  skips, 
point  to  the  figure  next  in  order  and  say,  ''Now  this  one." 
If  he  starts  filling  in  with  1,  2,  3  in  order  say,  "No.  Write 
In  the  number  that  is  in  the  figure  on  the  card,"  etc.  If 
the  error  is  simply  one  of  mistaking  the  number  of  a  figure, 
let  it  pass.  The  following  key  was  used,  but  any  combina- 
tion of  figures  can  be  used  which  separates  the  conf usional 
figures. 

Record :  Record  the  time  for  each  page. 

Evaluation :  Reckon  the  time  in  seconds  and  the  accuracy 
for  pages  1,  2,  3,  and  4.  The  accuracy  for  each  page  is 
obtained  by  giving  100%  for  a  correct  page  and  subtracting 
2%  for  each  error.  Add  the  time  in  seconds  for  pages  1,  2, 
and  3.  The  norms  represent  the  time  in  seconds  for  each 
page,  the  accuracy  for  page  4,  and  the  total  time  for  pages 
1,  2,  and  3.  The  last  value  was  the  one  selected  for  analysis 
of  the  test. 

Notes:  The  test  is  one  which  is  easy  to  give,  easy  for 
the  subject  to  understand,  and  which  involves  a  definite  and 
common  type  of  adjustment.  However,  before  adoption, 
it  should  be  carefully  studied  in  relation  to  the  use  that  is 
to  be  made  of  it,  so  that  its  full  value  can  be  obtained  from 
the  results.  For  instance,  the  situation  would  be  simplified 
in  attempting  to  regara  the  test  as  a  whole  if  the  warning 
that  a  fourth  page  was  to  be  filled  in  from  memory  were 
given  either  before  the  first  page  or  not  at  all.  The  latter 
course  would  probably  result  in  a  fourth  page  that  could  be 
evaluated  more  easily,  since  the  amount  learned  would  prob- 
ably differ  from  subject  to  subject. 


*58  METHODS  AND   RESULTS  OF 

Page  4  obviously  presents  a  different  test  situation 
with  a  memory  factor,  largely  lacking  in  the  first  part,  pre- 
dominating. The  best  value  for  this  would  be  one  which 
represents  the  extent  to  which  the  practice  pages  resulted 
in  learning  as  shown  by  the  performance  for  the  fourth 
page.  Time  alone  seems  an  inadequate  measure  of  memory. 
By  our  method  the  practice  pages  resulted  in  a  perfect  or 
nearly  perfect  recall  of  the  correct  figures  in  filling  in  page 
4.  Therefore  accuracy  alone  is  an  inadequate  value;  it 
gives  little  or  no  differentiation  of  the  subjects.  It  was 
impossible  to  combine  the  time  and  accuracy  into  an  index 
on  the  basis  of  their  observed  relation  as  was  done  for 
Cancellation  and  Picture  Completion,  since  the  relation 
changed  for  subjects  of  different  ages.  Therefore  page  4 
is  omitted  from  our  statistical  study. 

Although  Mrs.  Woolley  treated  the  results  on  each  page 
as  a  separate  test,  the  situation  for  pages  1  and  2  is  identical 
and  that  for  page  3  is  only  slightly  altered  by  the  warning 
that  a  fourth  page  will  follow  without  the  key.  Therefore 
it  was  decided  to  use  one  value  for  the  three  pages.  Accuracy 
gave  relatively  small  scattering,  so  high  a  percent  of  the 
cases  making  no  mistakes  that  it  was  ignored,  and  the  time 
combined  for  the  three  pages. 

Memory  for  Digits 

Materials :  Set  of  eleven  cards  of  5,  6,  7,  8,  and  9  digits 
and  a  sample  card  of  4  digits ;  a  metronome.  The  Stoelting 
cards  for  Whipple's  Test  38A  were  used. 

Instructions :  Place  the  metronome  and  cards,  face  down, 
on  table  in  front  of  the  subject  with  paper  in  place  most 
convenient  for  the  subject  to  write.  Say,  *'0n  the  other 
side  of  these  cards  are  some  numbers  printed  in  rows.  I 
am  going  to  turn  a  card  up  and  then  we  will  read  the 
numbers  out  loud  together.  Then  I  will  turn  the  card 
down  and  I  want  you  to  see  if  you  can  write  the  numbers 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  69 

on  this  paper  just  the  way  they  were  on  the  card ;  just  the 
same  numbers  and  in  just  the  same  order.  I'll  start  this 
little  ticker  going  to  show  us  how  fast  to  read  the  numbers. 
(Start  metronome  at  rate  of  60.)  See,  we  say  a  number 
every  time  it  ticks.  (Illustrate.)  This  first  card  is  to 
practice  on.  There  are  four  numbers  on  it.  Be  sure  you 
read  the  numbers  out  loud  with  me  and  then  write  them 
down."  Turn  up  a  card  on  one  beat  of  the  metronome  and 
start  reading  on  the  next.  Repeat  the  procedure  with  the 
sample  card  until  the  subject  understands  the  instructions. 
Then  say,  **Here  is  the  first  card,  there  are  five  nmnbers 
on  it."  Tell  the  subject  the  number  of  digits  on  each  card 
before  turning  it  up.  Do  not  stop  the  metronome  until  the 
subject  has  written  down  the  last  number  of  the  last  card. 
Always  present  the  cards  in  the  order  shown  below. 


1.  84627 

5.  6914253 

9.  831754629 

2.  57296 

6.  4863517 

10.  924738615 

3.  683152 

7.  87461953 

4.  935274 

8.  79435681 

Evaluation :  With  the  correct  series  for  reference  check 
each  series  as  right  or  wrong.  Use  as  score  the  number  of 
digits  (5,  9,  or  7,  etc.)  in  the  longest  series  correctly  repro- 
duced. Only  one  success  out  of  the  two  trials  is  necessary 
and  no  account  is  taken  of  skipping  a  series. 

Notes:  The  test  in  this  form  seems  to  give  a  uniform 
opportunity  for  maximmn  effort  from  every  subject,  since 
it  makes  a  visual,  auditory,  and  lip-motor  appeal.  The 
possibility  that  a  subject  with  a  dominant  type  of  imagery 
would  be  badly  hampered  by  a  method  which  appeals  chiefly 
to  one  sense  is  thus  avoided. 

When  this  test  was  included  in  the  series  the  plan  was 
to  score  it  by  the  Woolley  method.  Since  this  allows  a 
fairly  detailed  scoring  according  to  the  amount  accom- 
plished for  each  series,  it  was  legitimate,  though  arbitrary, 
to  decide  that  the  limit  for  the  younger  children  should 


60  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

be  seven  digits,  while  the  series  given  to  the  older  subjects 
should  include  eight  and  nine  digits.  But  when  the  span  is 
used  as  the  test  value,  a  new  basis  for  evaluation  is  intro- 
duced. As  long  as  the  subject  succeeds  in  reproducing  a 
series  he  should  be  given  the  next  longer  one,  until  his  limit 
is  surely  reached.  By  stopping  the  test  at  seven  digits  for 
the  yoimger  children  we  practically  invalidated  the  results 
for  those  who  succeeded.  If  they  can  repeat  seven  digits 
they  may  be  able  to  repeat  eight,  and  until  we  know  whether 
they  can,  the  score  seven  is  imfair.  Whenever  a  graded 
series  of  tests  is  given,  care  should  be  taken  to  include 
material  that  is  well  beyond  the  range  of  the  majority  of 
subjects  or  it  will  be  impossible  to  use  the  number  of  correct 
performances  as  the  score. 

We  gave  up  the  Cincinnati  method  of  scoring  because 
its  advantage  in  giving  a  picture  of  the  subject's  complete 
performance  was  offset  by  the  complexity  of  the  scoring 
rules  and  by  the  fact  that  the  method  gives  five  or  more 
separate  values  for  the  test  in  place  of  the  one  necessary 
for  our  purpose.  When  we  made  the  change  to  the  span 
method  of  scoring,  we  found  that  enough  eight  and  nine 
year  old  children  succeeded  in  reproducing  seven  digits  to 
indicate  that  our  norms  for  those  ages  were  inadequate. 
We  give  results  for  ten  through  thirteen  years,  with  the 
suggestion  that  the  span  is  the  best  value  for  the  test.  Three 
arrangements  of  digits  should  be  presented  for  each  series 
and  cards  containing  at  least  ten  digits  should  be  included. 
The  test  should  be  continued  until  a  subject  has  failed  on 
all  three  trials  of  two  successive  spans. 

Steadiness  of  Motor  Control 

Materials:  Electric  target  apparatus,  stop-watch;  table 
and  adjustable  chair. 

Instructions :  Adjust  the  subject  at  the  table  so  that  his 
elbow  is  level  with  the  target  and  as  far  forward  as  the 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  61 

front  of  the  body,  and  his  feet  are  on  the  floor.    Have  the 
target  directly  in  front  of  the  hand  used.     Say,  "This  is 
a  machine  to  measure  how  steady  your  hand  is.    See  I  hold 
the  point  of  this  needle  in  one  of  these  holes  (illustrate). 
When  I  hold  it  still  nothing  happens  but  as  soon  as  my 
hand  moves  a  little  and  makes  the  needle  touch  the  side  of 
the  hole,  it  makes  this  click  (illustrate).    I  want  you  to  put 
the  point  of  the  needle  straight  into  the  hole  like  this,  and 
hold  it  just  as  still  as  you  can  in  the  middle  of  the  hole. 
Make  just  as  few  clicks  as  you  can.  Now  you  try  it.'^  Have 
the  subject  try  with  the  right  hand  in  hole  No.  IV,  until  he 
holds  the  position  correctly.   Give  every  assistance  to  assure 
correct  position  for  his  hand.    Repeat  whenever  necessary 
during  the  test.    Say,  *^Yes,  that  is  right.    I  will  tell  you 
when  to  put  the  needle  in  and  when  to  take  it  out.    Don't 
mind  the  first  few  clicks  when  you  put  the  needle  in,  they 
don't  count  anyway. ' '   Begin  with  hole  No.  IV  and  start  the 
watch  as  the  subject  puts  the  needle  in.    After  18''  tell  him 
to  take  it  out.    Do  not  count  the  clicks  for  the  first  three 
seconds.    If  he  makes  four  to  twelve  clicks  inclusive,  have 
him  try  the  next  smaller  hole  for  the  next  trial  with  that 
hand.    If  he  makes  not  more  than  three  clicks,  skip  to  the 
second  smaller  hole.    If  he  makes  more  than  twelve  clicks, 
try  the  next  larger  hole.     Continue  the  test  imtil  the 
examiner  is  sure  he  has  identified  the  hole  in  which  the 
subject  makes  not  more  than  twelve  clicks.    Alternate  the 
hands  in  giving  the  trials.    Never  try  twice  with  the  same 
hand  without  giving  a  rest.    Be  sure  the  needle  is  put  into 
the  hole  at  right  angles;  that  it  does  not  come  out  of  the 
hole  during  the  trial;  that  the  subject  does  not  press  his 
arm  against  his  body ;  that  he  does  not  rest  the  needle  point 
against  the  side  of  the  hole  or  rest  his  finger  on  the  face  of 
the  target ;  and  that  his  feet  are  flat  on  the  floor.    The  holes 
are  numbered  in  order  from  the  largest  to  the  smallest. 

Record :  Record  the  hand  used,  the  hole  and  the  number 
of  contacts  made  for  each  trial. 


62  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Evaluation:  Check  for  each  hand  the  smallest  hole 
reached  with  twelve  or  less  contacts.  Give  this  trial  the 
correct  value  from  the  following  table  by  adding  the  number 
of  contacts  to  the  numerical  value  of  the  hole.  For  example, 
5  contacts  in  hole  IV  receives  a  score  of  71.  The  smaller 
the  score  the  better  the  performance. 

Hole  Value 

IX 1 

VIII 14 

VII 27 

VI 40 

V 53 

IV 66 

III 79 

II 92 

1 105 

The  scores  for  both  hands  are  given  as  norms.  The  score 
for  the  right  hand  was  used  for  the  study  of  relationships. 

Notes:  The  successful  administration  of  the  test  depends 
on  making  the  subject  understand  the  problem  in  spite  of 
the  nature  of  the  apparatus.  The  electric  battery  sometimes 
alarms  the  children  and  the  strangeness  of  the  whole  situa- 
tion is  apt  to  make  them  tense  and  awkward.  It  is  often 
necessary  to  spend  a  little  time  explaining  and  handling 
the  apparatus  before  the  subject  overcomes  his  distrust  and 
resumes  a  sufficiently  natural  and  relaxed  manner  to  enable 
him  to  hold  the  needle  steady.  The  fact  that  a  contact  makes 
a  click  and  a  spark,  suggests  that  making  clicks  is  the  proper 
way  of  handling  the  materials.  This  interest  in  producing 
clicks  must  be  overcome  by  an  adequate  emphasis  on  hold- 
ing the  hand  still  so  as  to  avoid  them.  But  care  should  be 
taken  not  to  prolong  the  period  of  instruction  and  practice 
so  that  it  results  in  training. 

The  Cincinnati  method  of  recording  the  number  of  con- 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  63 

tacts  and  the  hole  reached  as  two  separate  values  was  fol- 
lowed, but  for  use  these  two  values  were  combined  into  one. 

Strength  of  Grip  (Whipple  No.  6) 

Materials:  Dynanometer. 

Instructions:  Show  dynanometer  to  the  subject  and  say, 
''This  machine  is  to  measure  how  strong  your  hand  is.  It 
works  this  way.  I  take  it  in  my  hand  and  squeeze  it  just 
as  hard  as  I  can.  (Illustrate.)  The  harder  I  squeeze  the 
farther  those  pointers  move  on  the  scale,  and  this  one  stays 
up  to  show  how  hard  I  squeezed.  Now  hold  out  your  hand 
and  let  me  see  you  take  hold.'' 

Adjust  the  dynanometer  so  that  the  lower  edge  of  the 
upper  grip  lies  along  the  base  of  the  middle  fingers  and  the 
lower  edge  of  the  lower  grip  lies  against  the  heel  of  the 
hand. 

*'Now  you  take  it,  hold  it  down  at  your  side,  and  squeeze 
just  as  hard  as  you  possibly  can." 

Give  three  trials  with  each  hand,  alternating  right  and 
left.  Keep  urging  subject  to  the  maximum  effort.  Watch 
the  subject  to  prevent  his  pushing  instrmnent  against  side. 
Give  him  the  dynanometer  with  face  outward  from  body. 

Record:  Record  the  trials  for  each  hand  in  kilograms 
and  halves. 

Evaluation :  Note  the  best  trial  for  right  and  left  hand 
and  the  average  of  the  two ;  these  values  are  presented  as 
norms,  while  the  value  of  the  right  hand  was  used  for 
analysis. 

Notes:  Unlike  most  of  the  tests  in  the  series,  obtaining 
comparable  results  depends  less  upon  a  verbatim  adminis- 
tration of  the  test  than  upon  securing  the  maximum  of 
effort  from  the  subject.  Unless  the  tester  constantly  stimu- 
lates each  subject  so  that  he  squeezes  as  hard  as  he  can  the 
results  will  not  be  comparable.  Some  children  get  the  idea 
instantly,  and  with  no  further  instructions  than  the  explana- 


64  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

tion  of  the  apparatus,  put  their  best  efforts  into  all  six 
trials;  others  have  to  be  urged  before  each  trial  to  insure 
their  giving  more  than  a  perfunctory  squeeze. 

The  size  of  the  dynanometer,  which  is  made  for  the  adult 
hand,  makes  the  test  unfair  to  some  subjects.  The  bars  of 
the  grip  are  so  broad  and  thick  that  the  smaller  children 
cannot  get  a  very  firm  hold  and  so  are  probably  considerably 
handicapped  in  their  performance.  But,  since  it  is  obviously 
impossible  to  have  a  sufficient  number  of  dynanometers  to 
exactly  fit  the  hands  of  all  children  from  eight  to  thirteen 
years  of  age,  and  since  the  result  cannot  be  regarded  as  an 
absolute  physical  measure,  the  inequalities  of  the  results 
seemed  to  be  minimized  by  giving  the  same  instrument  to 
all  the  subjects  and  making  every  effort  to  secure  maxi- 
mum effort. 

Ball  and  Field  Problem  (Terman) 

Materials:  Blank  with  broken  circle  printed  in  heavy 
black  ink.*    Stop-watch. 

Instructions:  Present  card  with  the  ''gate"  toward  the 
subject.  Say,  ''This  circle  represents  a  big  round  field  with 
a  fence  around  it.  You  know  what  a  field  is?  (If  not, 
explain.)  A  baseball  has  been  lost  in  this  field  but  we  have 
no  idea  where  it  is,  in  what  part  of  the  field.  The  field 
is  covered  v^th  high  grass  so  that  you  can't  see  the  ball 
unless  you  get  right  close  to  it.  (Start  the  path  with  pencil 
up  to  the  gate.)  Now  draw  a  line  that  will  show  me  how 
you  would  walk  so  as  to  be  sure  not  to  miss  the  ball. ' '  Allow 
the  subject  to  continue  till  the  pencil  comes  to  rest  for  ten 
seconds.  Then  say,  "Are  you  through?"  Allow  further 
drawing  if  the  subject  desires. 

Record:  Take  time  from  the  moment  the  subject  starts 
drawing  till  pencil  stops.  If  he  continues  after  question, 
add  on  this  time. 

*  Terman,  L.  M.:  The  Measurement  of  Intelligence,  Houghton  Miflain  Co. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


65 


Evaluation :  By  reference  to  the  sample  types  shown  in 
cut,  score  the  performance  as  A,  B,  C,  or  D.  Figure 
the  time  in  seconds. 

Notes:  This  test  seemed  particularly  good  as  a  means  of 
showing  the  subject's  method  of  attack  and  general  effi- 
ciency. However,  we  were  unable  to  make  any  use  of  the 
results  because  of  the  difficulty  in  evaluating  in  terms  of 
standardized  performances.  An  exhaustive  study  was  made 
of  the  performances  in  an  attempt  to  grade  them  on  a  finer 


Fig.  14. — Ball  and  Field  Evaluation  Types. 

scale  than  that  used  by  Mr.  Terman.  The  numbers  bimched 
so  overwhelmingly  on  the  A  and  C  types  that  the  conclusion 
seemed  quite  definite  that  when  the  instructions  were  under- 
stood, a  child  either  indicated  an  adequate  plan  or  simply 
covered  the  field  in  a  haphazard  way,  which  practically 
necessitates  its  evaluation  as  a  plus  or  minus  test.  ]\Ir. 
Terman  makes  no  provision  for  type  D ;  probably  it  was  not 
necessary  because  of  his  instructions,  which  allowed  for 
explaining  until  the  child  clearly  understood  what  was 
wanted.  But  with  our  method  of  making  instructions  uni- 
form, a  large  group  of  subjects  failed  entirely  to  understand 
what  they  were  to  do,  which  resulted  in  t}T)e  D,  about  which 
it  is  impossible  to  say  anything  except  that  the  instructions 


66  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

were  inadequate.  The  difficulties  of  some  subjects  in  con- 
trolling their  pencils  which  resulted  in  a  performance  obvi- 
ously not  as  good  as  their  understanding  of  the  problem, 
would  further  suggest  the  undesirability  of  making  too  fine 
a  grading  of  the  results. 

The  Binet-Simon  Scale 

The  Town  translation  of  the  1911  revision  of  Binet  and 
Simon's  ''A  Method  of  Measuring  the  Development  of  the 
Intelligence  of  Young  Children,"  was  followed  in  giving 
and  evaluating  the  Binet  tests.  In  order  to  get  a  imif orm 
body  of  material,  all  the  tests  for  seven  through  15  years 
and  as  many  lower  tests  as  necessary  were  given  to  each 
subject.  A  uniform  order  was  followed,  planned  to  avoid 
monotony  and  discouragement  by  alternating  the  hard  and 
easy  tests  and  scattering  throughout  the  series  the  tests 
that  require  the  subject  to  handle  material.  The  instruc- 
tions were  taken  verbatim  from  the  Town  Appendix,  except 
in  the  instances  listed  below.  The  subject's  responses  were 
recorded  in  full,  and  were  listed  according  to  uniform  num- 
bering and  lettering  in  order  to  simplify  their  identification 
for  evaluation.  ^  Distinguishing  between  Morning  and  After- 
noon,' *  Pointing  to  the  Eight  Hand  and  Left  Ear,'  ^Naming 
Colors,'  *  Counting  Pennies,'  and  ^Eepeating  Syllables,' 
were  checked  plus  as  they  were  given  unless  the  subject 
made  an  error,  when  the  procedure  was  noted.  No  other 
tests  were  scored  at  the  time  of  giving. 

Since  few  of  the  children  had  a  fluent  and  easy  command 
of  English,  an  even  larger  number  of  incomplete  answers 
than  is  usual  resulted.  In  order  not  to  penalize  the  children 
unduly  for  halting,  incomplete  answers,  and  to  keep  the  test 
procedure  standard,  the  follow  up  questions  to  be  used  were 
specified  and  noted  when  used.  No  questions  were  asked 
which  might  suggest  the  desired  response  or  convey  to  the 
subject  the  fact  that  his  first  answer  was  incorrect. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  67 

The  results  were  scored  and  the  mental  age  figured  gome 
time  after  the  test  had  been  given,  first  by  the  tester  and 
then  by  a  second  person.  The  final  scoring  was  entered  on 
a  printed  blank,  but  the  original  records  were  taken  on 
sheets  of  plain  paj)er,  which  were  filed  with  the  subject's 
other  records. 

Binet's  discussion  of  each  test  was  made  into  a  rule  for' 
its  evaluation,  and  his  examples  listed  as  illustrations. 
Ambiguous  responses  were  discussed  by  all  the  testers :  as 
decisions  were  reached  they  were  listed  in  the  instructions, 
in  order  to  insure  uniform  scoring.  'Three  Given  Words 
in  One  Sentence'  and  'Comparing  Two  Objects  from 
Memory'  caused  the  most  difficulty,  and  after  all  the  testing 
was  done  the  rules  for  their  evaluation  were  again  defined 
and  the  results  rescored.  In  amplifying  and  arranging  our 
rules  we  had  the  benefit  of  a  similar  piece  of  work  which 
was  being  done  at  the  Laboratory  of  Social  Hygiene  at 
Bedford  Hills,  and  with  a  few  exceptions  the  instructions 
are  identical. 

The  mental  age  was  figured  by  taking  as  the  basal  year 
the  highest  year  at  which  all  five  tests  were  passed  and  add- 
ing two-tenths  for  each  test  passed  above  the  basal  year. 
No  account  was  taken  of  the  scatter  of  tests  below  the  basal 
year,  and  if  all  five  tests  of  a  year  were  minus,  no  tests 
above  it  were  counted. 

Since  our  rules  attempted  to  follow  exactly  Binet's 
instructions,  they  are  not  given  here,  except  for  those  tests 
where  the  Town  Appendix  was  found  to  be  incomplete  or 
failed  to  adequately  prescribe  the  procedure.  The  pro- 
cedure for  these  tests  follows. 

Test  No.  29.    VII  Years.    Counting  Stamps. 

Since  a  specified  procedure  is  not  prescribed  in  the 
appendix,  the  following  method  was  decided  upon.  Show 
the  subject  three  two-cent  and  three  one-cent  stamps 
mounted  on  a  card ;  point  to  a  two-cent  and  then  to  a  one- 


68  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

cent  stamp,  saying,  ''How  much  does  this  cost?''  If  the 
subject  does  not  know,  tell  him  their  values.  Then  say, 
''How  much  would  all  these  cost?" 

Test  No,  SI,    VIII  Years.    Comparing  Two  Objects  from 
Memory. 

The  order  of  giving  the  questions  was  altered.  'Fly  and 
Butterfly'  were  asked  fiirst  and  'Paper  and  Cloth'  last. 
'Cloth'  was  substituted  for  'cardboard.'  The  change  in 
order  was  made  because  the  gain  in  convenience  for  the 
combination  seemed  to  more  than  o:ffset  a  possible  alteration 
of  the  original  test.  Since  many  of  our  Jewish  group  were 
unfamiliar  with  'cardboard,'  some  change  in  this  part  of 
the  test  was  desirable,  and  the  Yerkes  form  was  adopted. 

Test  No.  33.    VIII  Years.    Omission  from  Pictures. 

If  the  subject  did  not  understand  the  word  'missing,' 
the  question  was  repeated,  substituting  the  word  'gone'; 
'missing'  was  an  unfamiliar  word  to  many  of  the  group. 

Test  No.  34.    VIII  Years.    Giving  the  Date. 

Say  "What  day  is  it  to-day?  What  date  is  it?"  If 
the  answer  is  the  day  of  the  month  only,  say,  "Give  me 
the  whole  date."  If  the  year  is  not  given,  "And  the  year." 
Note  the  questions  asked.  This  procedure  was  adopted 
because,  although  it  seemed  to  be  a  marked  departure  from 
that  prescribed  in  the  Appendix,  it  does  follow  the  sugges- 
tion made  by  Binet  as  to  the  difficulty  of  getting  the  subjects 
to  give  the  whole  date,  even  when  they  know  it. 

Test  No.  36.   IX  Years.   Making  Change. 

Say  to  the  subject,  "Suppose  you  were  the  storekeeper 
and  this  is  your  money,  and  I  was  buji^ng  this  box  which 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  69 

costs  six  cents,  and  gave  you  this  money  (present  quarter), 
how  much  change  would  you  give  me?"  Hold  out  hand 
and  add,  ''Give  it  to  me."  The  difference  in  money  neces- 
sitates some  departure  in  method  from  that  prescribed  by 
Binet,  and  we  adopted  the  above  in  preference  to  the  Town 
because  it  is  more  generally  used.  Since  the  Appendix  does 
not  give  the  exact  procedure,  we  prescribed  this  wording. 

Test  No,  38.    IX  Years.    Naming  Money. 

(A)  Show  the  subject  successively:  a  penny,  a  dime,  a 
quarter,  a  nickel,  a  half-dollar,  and  a  one  dollar  bill,  saying 
in  each  case,  ''What  is  this?"  Then  say,  "What  other  bills 
are  there  besides  one  dollar  bills?"  (B)  If  he  mentions, 
three,  four,  etc.,  dollar  bills,  ask  "Did  you  ever  see  a  three 
or  four,  etc.,  dollar  bill?"  If  he  answers,  "No,"  ask,  "Did 
you  ever  see  a  two  dollar  bill?"  (C)  In  case  of  a  single 
omission  in  naming  bills,  repeat  this  part  of  the  test  later 
in  the  series.  Corrections  of  errors  made  under  (A)  in 
either  (B)  or  (C),  give  plus  for  the  test.  The  test  was 
used  in  this  form  instead  of  showing  all  the  bills  to  the 
subject  because  of  the  impracticability  of  keeping  the  neces- 
sary amount  of  money  for  several  testers  in  a  public  school 
building. 

Test  No.  45.    X  Years.    Using  Three  Given  Words  in  One 
Sentence. 

Write  the  words,  "Brooklyn,  money,  river."  Show  the 
paper  to  the  subject  and  read  the  words  aloud,  then  say, 
"I  want  you  to  make  a  sentence  and  use  in  it  these  three 
words,  "Brooklyn,  money,  river." 

The  use  of  'Brooklyn'  in  place  of  'Paris'  is  not  con- 
sidered a  change.  'Money'  was  used  in  place  of  'fortune' 
because  to  our  group  with  their  limited  knowledge  of  Eng- 
lish fortune  means  luck  or  chance.  We  replaced  the  general 
directions  of  the  Api)endix  by  this  exact  procedure. 


70  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OP 

Test  No,  '48,  XII  Years.    Giving  Words  for  Three  Minutes, 

Say,  "I  want  you  to  say  just  as  many  words  as  you 
can  in  three  minutes.  Don't  say  tlie  same  word  more  than 
once.  Some  people  say  as  many  as  two  hundred.  Any 
word  will  do,  such  as  table,  skirt,  brook,  clouds,  dog,  pin, 
happy,  courage.  Now  go  ahead  and  say  as  many  as  you 
can.''  If  the  subject  stops,  assuming  that  enough  words 
have  been  given,  at  the  end  of  the  half-minute  period  say 
''Go  on,  please.''  If  he  gives  more  than  three  consecutive 
figures,  say,  "Don't  count  any  more." 

While  Binet  does  not  say  that  he  required  different 
words,  his  discussion  indicates  that  he  did.  Although  no 
examples  are  given  in  the  Appendix  procedure,  they  are 
called  for  in  Binet 's  procedure.  Since  a  complete  list  of 
words  is  not  prescribed,  the  Yerkes  examples  were  used. 

Test  No,  50.     XII  Years.     Putting  Together  Dissected 
Sentences, 

Say,  "I  want  you  to  put  these  words  into  their  proper 
order,  and  find  the  sentence  which  they  make.  Use  all  the 
words  there  are  and  no  others." 

The  instructions  in  the  Appendix  were  changed  because 
their  wording  seemed  too  difficult  for  the  understanding  of 
the  children  in  our  groups. 

Test  No.  52.   XV  Years.    Giving  Bhymes. 

Say,  '*Do  you  know  what  I  mean  when  I  say  that  a  word 
rhymes  with  another  word?  Two  words  that  rhyme  are 
two  words  which  end  in  the  same  sound.  Like  rat,  hat,  cat, 
or  button,  mutton.  Do  you  see  ?  Now  tell  me  all  the  words 
you  can  think  of  that  rhjmie  with  defender ;  like  pretender, 
contender,  suspender."  A  two-syllable  rhyme  was  ac- 
cepted. 

The  Town  procedure  was  altered  in  an  attempt  to 
reproduce  the  test  situation  called  for  by  the  French  instruc- 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  71 

tions  even  at  the  expense  of  an  exact  translation.  In  col- 
loquial English  pumpkin  and  napkin  do  not  rh5ane  as  they 
do  in  French.  'Obeir'  is  a  three-syllable  word  of  consider- 
able difficulty.  *  Defender '  was  selected  as  a  word  approach- 
ing it  in  difficulty.  Although  an  easier  word  probably  should 
have  been  selected,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  we  asked 
a  large  number  of  children  for  rhymes  for  'obey'  as  a  check, 
and  the  results  were  no  better  than  those  obtained  for 
defender. 

Tests  No.  18  and  53.  V  and  XV  Years.  Repeating  Syllahles. 

The  following  sentences  were  used;  "His  name  is  John. 
It  is  a  very  fine  day."  ''It  is  not  necessary  to  hurt  the 
poor  little  birds.  It  is  night  and  all  the  world  rests  in  sleep." 

The  Yerkes  sentences  were  used  instead  of  the  Binet 
because  they  seemed  more  suitable  to  the  test.  "My  name 
is  Charley.  Oh,  the  naughty  dog!"  has  an  affective  element 
which  might  distract  the  child's  attention  from  a  literal 
reproduction.  The  sixteen-syllable  sentence  in  the  Appendix 
is  awkward  in  phraseology,  which  increases  the  difficulty 
of  repetition  beyond  that  of  the  sentence  given  in  the  trans- 
lation of  Binet 's  instructions. 

Yerkes-Bridges  Point  Scale 

The  children  were  also  rated  by  the  Yerkes-Bridges 
Point  Scale.  The  material  for  the  scale  is  so  largely  iden- 
tical with  that  for  the  Binet  that  it  was  a  simple  matter 
to  score  our  detailed  record  for  both  scales.  Our  primary 
interest  was  to  obtain  norms  for  the  Binet  Scale  based  on 
an  accurate  interpretation  of  the  original  Binet  instructions 
and  a  carefully  standardized  procedure.  Therefore  where- 
ever  the  Binet  and  Yerkes  procedure  are  opposed  to  each 
other,  the  preference  was  given  to  the  Binet  Scale.  This 
necessitated  certain  alterations  of  the  instructions  given  in 


72  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Yerkes  Bridges  and  Hardwick's,  ^'A  point  Scale  for  Meas- 
uring Mental  Ability. ' ' 

Tests  where  the  two  Scales  overlap  were  arranged  by 
listing  all  the  material  for  both  as  one  test,  lettering  each 
part  and  recording  the  responses  under  their  proper  letters. 
It  was  then  easy  to  separate  the  portions  of  the  test  to  be 
scored  for  Binet  from  those  to  be  scored  for  Yerkes. 

Yerkes  allows  somewhat  more  latitude  in  giving  instruc- 
tions than  Binet  (''If  one  form  of  expression  or  explanation 
is  not  intelligible  to  the  child,  care  should  be  taken  that 
a  clear  understanding  is  established  by  some  variation  of 
the  form  of  statement").  This  was  met  by  giving  the 
instructions  first  in  the  strict  Binet  form,  recording  the 
response,  and  then  asking  a  specified  follow  up  question, 
phrased  so  as  to  complete  the  instructions  called  for  by 
Yerkes.  The  response  to  these  additional  questions  was 
then  recorded  and  used  in  scoring  for  the  Point  Scale.  In 
some  tests  it  was  found  impossible  to  add  the  exact  Point 
Scale  instructions  to  the  Binet  without  altering  the  test, 
which  resulted  in  the  following  departures  from  the  Yerkes 
instructions.  While  the  legitimacy  of  using  the  Point  Scale 
in  this  way  may  be  questioned,  a  study  of  the  listed  differ- 
ences indicates  that  with  the  exception  of  a  changed  time 
limit  the  differences  are  no  greater  than  those  that  would 
be  permitted  by  the  quotation  given  above.  Considering 
differences  in  the  groups  examined,  our  norms  follow  those 
published  by  Yerkes  very  closely. 

Test  4.  Memory  Span  for  Digits.  The  Binet  instruc- 
tions for  seven  digits  were  used:  "Now  I^m  going  to  say 
seven  numbers.  Listen  and  repeat  them  exactly."  Here 
the  subject  has  the  advantage  of  knowing  how  many  num- 
bers he  is  asked  to  remember. 

Test  7.  Description  of  Three  Binet  Pictures.  The 
instructions  used  were:  Say,  "What  is  this?"  In  case  of 
no  response,  follow  by,  "Tell  me  what  you  see  there."  The 
Yerkes  form,  "Please  look  at  this  picture  and  tell  me  about 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  73 

it,"  might  be  considered  more  likely  to  result  in  description 
and  interpretation  than  the  Binet  form. 

Test  16.  Drawing  Designs  from  Memory.  The  subject 
was  shown  the  card  for  ten  seconds  instead  of  fifteen. 

Test  18.  Construction  of  Sentences.  The  words  were 
presented  to  the  children  in  a  slightly  different  order  from 
that  called  for  in  the  Yerkes  instructions. 

1.  For    An  The  2.  To  Asked       Spelling 

"At      Hour  Early  My    I     Teacher 

We     Country    Started  Correct    My 

3.  A  Defends    His 

Dog         Good 
Master    Bravely 


74  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


CHAPTER  IV 
TEST  NORMS 

In  presenting  norms,  their  exact  meaning  and  the  limita- 
tions of  their  possible  uses  demand  emphasis.  For  inter- 
pretation an  individual  score  must  always  be  related  to 
the  appropriate  norm.  The  size  of  the  score  in  itself  does 
not  indicate  whether  the  performance  was  good  or  poor — 
that  is,  the  numerical  values  have  not  been  translated  into 
terms  of  a  scale  involving  a  general  assumption  as  to  the 
quality  of  the  performance.  Where  time  is  the  value,  a  low 
score  generally  indicates  a  good  performance,  while  in  many 
of  the  tests  excellence  is  indicated  by  a  high  score.  Further, 
in  some  tests  the  range  of  scores  is  very  large,  while  in 
others  it  is  limited  by  the  niunber  of  steps  in  the  test  per- 
formance. No  assumption  can  be  made  directly  from  the 
numerical  score,  without  referring  back  to  the  norms  or 
the  test  material.  Even  in  the  Maturity  Scale,  the  standings 
represent  simply  the  individuaPs  relative  position  with 
reference  to  the  average  of  the  particular  group. 

A  further  point  must  be  made  regarding  the  nature  of 
the  norms.  A  norm  should  never  be  used  as  an  absolute 
standard  for  rating  a  given  individual  without  considera- 
tion of  what  it  represents.  Those  here  presented  are  the 
reactions  to  the  tests  of  a  random  sampling  of  Jewish 
children  ranging  from  nine  through  thirteen  years.  Other 
groups  yielding  norms  which  vary  from  those  of  the  present 
group  may  also  represent  good  sampling.  These  values, 
then,  must  not  be  taken  to  represent  the  normal  perform- 
ances of  all  children.    With  these  facts  in  mind,  the  norms 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  75 

may  be  used  for  work  with  individual  children  of  other 
groups.  It  is  only  essential  to  consider  the  characteristics 
of  the  group,  and  to  use  the  norms  as  points  of  reference 
rather  than  as  absolute  standards  for  all  classes  of  children. 
Por  the  convenience  of  users  of  the  tests  described,  the 
norms  are  given  in  two  forms: 

I.  The  mean  and  the  standard  deviation  with  their  prob- 
able errors  are  given  for  each  age. 

II.  The  regression  equation  of  the  performance  in  each 
test  on  age  is  given,  together  with  the  standard  deviation 
of  the  measurements  about  the  regression  line. 


The  mean  is  the  arithmetic  average  of  the  scores  in  a 
test,  made  by  children  of  each  age.  Children  who  are 
Included  in  the  nine  year  group  are  those  who  have  passed 
their  ninth  but  who  have  not  yet  reached  their  tenth  birth- 
day: consequently  the  average  for  each  age  group  falls  at 
the  mid-year ;  that  is,  the  test  norms  are  for  9.5  years,  10.5 
years,  etc.  The  standard  deviation  gives  an  indication  of 
the  amount  of  variability  found  in  each  age  group.  The 
probable  errors  of  the  means  and  standard  deviations  are 
given  to  facilitate  the  comparison  of  the  groups  which  we 
have  studied  with  groups  which  may  be  the  subject  of  future 
investigation.  The  mean  and  standard  deviation  of  the  indefi- 
nitely large  population  of  which  we  have  measured  a  rela- 
tively small  sample  may  be  safely  placed  within  a  range 
three  times  the  probable  error  above  and  below  the  observed 
mean  and  standard  deviation. 

The  norms  in  this  form  are  convenient  for  instant  refer- 
ence. In  estimating  the  significance  of  the  difference  of 
an  individual  child's  score  from  the  norm  for  a  given  age, 
the  observed  difference  should  be  related  to  the  standard 
deviation.  This  is  done  by  dividing  the  observed  difference 
by  the  standard  deviation.    The  resulting  ratio  is  sometimes 


76  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

called  the  standing  in  the  test.  It  may  be  said  that  stand- 
ings of  ±.8  are  large  enough  to  indicate  a  variation  from 
normal  worth  noting ;  those  as  large  as  -f  2  and  —  4  rarely 
occur.  Large  negative  are  more  common  than  large  posi- 
tive standings,  since  the  distribution  in  most  tests  is  nega- 
tively skewed.  In  addition  to  relating  the  child's  score  to 
the  norm,  the  standing  offers  a  means  of  comparing  the 
individual's  performances  in  various  tests.  In  using  stand- 
ings, it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  their  significance 
depends  upon  the  form  of  the  distribution  of  scores  in  the 
test.  A  child's  standing  for  any  desired  group  of  tests  may 
be  obtained  by  adding  or  averaging  his  standings  in  indiv- 
idual tests. 


n 


The  regression  of  scores  on  age  gives  more  satisfactory 
norms  than  those  obtained  by  using  the  arithmetic  mean. 
This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  regression  equation  neutral- 
izes the  erratic  effect  of  sampling  on  the  individual  norms. 
The  regression  equation  also  permits  the  stating  of  the 
norm  for  as  specific  an  age  as  the  circumstances  demand. 
When  using  the  norms  described  under  I,  a  child  on  his 
tenth  birthday  must  be  compared  with  children  of  age  9.5 
or  else  of  age  10.5,  in  either  case  a  half  year  removed.  In 
tests  where  improvement  with  age  is  rapid,  the  difference 
caused  by  this  half  year  may  be  important  enough  to  cause 
serious  error.  The  mean  for  any  specific  age,  however,  may 
be  obtained  from  the  regression  equation  by  substituting 
this  age  for  age  in  the  equation  and  solving.  The  result 
is  the  most  probable  mean  score  for  that  age  that  can  be 
obtained  from  our  data. 

The  standard  deviation  of  the  measures  about  the  regres- 
sion equation  is  to  be  taken  as  the  standard  deviation  of 
variability  for  every  age.     This  is  better  than  using  any 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  77 

specific  standard  deviation  since  the  erratic  effect  of  samp- 
ling is  again  neutralized.* 

The  standing  for  any  child  in  a  test  is  computed  on  the 
basis  of  the  norms  from  the  regression  equation  just  as  it 
is  computed  from  the  observed  norms.  Standings  based  on 
the  regression  equation  will  be  more  satisfactory  in  the  long 
run. 

For  certain  tests,  it  seemed  desirable  to  combine  two 
separate  measures  of  excellence  of  performance,  such  as 
speed  and  accuracy,  into  a  single  quantitative  value  or  index. 
We  wished  to  make  this  combination  on  something  more 
than  an  a  priori  basis.  Consequently  we  have  chosen  to 
unite  them  in  such  a  way  that  we  might  gain  maximum 
discrimination  between  the  mean  indices  for  the  ages  under 
investigation.    We  have  set  up  our  indices  in  the  form : 

I-=xA+yB-fz 

Where  I  is  the  index,  A  and  B  are  the  measurements  to 
be  combined,  and  x,  y,  and  z  are  constants  so  selected  that 
there  shall  be  a  minimum  overlapping  of  the  indices  of  the 
children  of  different  ages. 

This  form  of  index  gave  misleading  results  in  certain 
tests,  notably  the  Substitution  test,  where  the  rectilinearity 
of  the  regressions  between  variables  seemed  questionable. 
In  such  tests  no  index  was  used. 

Table  1 .— AGE  OF  TEST  GROUPS 

Boys 
Age 9.0-9.9       10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  9.53±.020  10.64±.019  11.64±.022  12.56dz.025  13.63±.024 
S.  D 207±.01       .200±.01         .236±.02         .265±.02         .257±.02 

Girls 
Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9       12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  9.64±.018  10.59±.021  11.58±.018  12.60db.025  13.59±.025 
S.  D 1.91±.01       .220±.01         .ISSdb.Ol         .258±.02         .262db.02 

*  The  regressions  appear  sufficiently  homoscedastic  to  justify  the  use  of  the 
standard  deviation  in  this  way. 


78  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Table  2.— CART  CONSTRUCTION 

Time  in  Seconds 

Boys 
Regression  equation  344 .  88  - 16 .  28  Age.    a  108 .  00 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean....  193     ±11        174     ±12        164     ±12        106.    ±6.4      139.    ±8.9 
S.  D 113. 0±  7.8    123. 0±  8.4    126. 0±  8.8      65.4±4.5        92.2±6.3 

Girls 
Regression  equation  381 .  74  - 12 .  55  Age.    a  129 .  69 
Age 9.0-9.9         10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  254     ±11        251     ±13        236     ±13        245     ±13      195     ±12 
S.  D 113. 0±  7.9    136. 0±  9.5    133. 0±  9.3    132. 0±  9.0  128. 0±  8.6 

Table  3.— CART  CONSTRUCTION 

Score  1+2 

Boys 

Regression  equation  13 .  26  + .  984  Age.    «r  4 .  31 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9     11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9         13.0-13.9 

Mean....     22.67±.48    23.65±.50    24.79±.41      25.52±.37        26.69±.31 
S.  D 4.88±.34      5.15±.35      4.17±.29        3.76±.26         3.23±.22 

Girls 

Regression  equation  8 .  79 + 1 .  61  Age.    «t  4 .  98 

Age 9.0-9.9         10.O-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  19.91±.55      21.13±.50      22.17±.63      23.84±.48      24.34±.35 
S.  D 5.49±.38        5.08±.36        5.39±.38        5.02±.34        3.69±.25 

Table  4.— CART  CONSTRUCTION 

Score  1 

Boys 
Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.-13.9 

Mean....  17.88±.28      18.04±.25      18.68±.17      18.98±.12      18.84±.17 
S.D 2.83±.20        2.55±.17        1.75±.12        1.28±.09        1.78±.12 

Girls 
Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  16.71±.38      17.28±.31      17.45±.36      18.45±.18      18.38±.16 
S.D 3.81±.27        3.12±.22        3.67±.26        1.85±.13        1.70±.ll 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  79 

Table  5  — CrlRT  CONSTRUCTION 

Score  2 

Boys 
Age 9.0-9.9       10.0-10.9       11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9         13.0-13.9 

Mean....     4.58±.34        5.61±.36        6.11±.32        6.54±.32        7.82±.25 
S.  D 3.53±.24        3.73±.25        3.21±.23       3.30dz.23         2.66±.18 

Girls 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  3.20±.30         3.85±.34        4.72±.35        5.39±.37        5.96±.26 
S.D 3.04±.21  3.48±.24        3.52±.25        3.81±.26        2.76±.19 

Table  6.— NARRATIVE  PICTURES 

Score  in  Percent 

Boys 
Regression  equation  7 .  52  +4 .  34  Age.    c  19 .  10 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     48.3±1.9        51.8±1.9        56.2±2.1        64.8±1.9        65.9±1.5 
S.D 19.1±1.3        19.3±1.3        21. Oil. 5        19.7±1.3        15.8=bl.l 

Girls 
Regression  equation  17 .  71  +3 .  66  Age.    cr  19 .  61 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     56.8±1.8        57.9±2.3        64.5±1.5        62.5±1.9        72.4±1.9 
S.D 17.6±1.2        23. Oil. 6        15.4±1.1        19.2±1.3        20.3±1.4 

Table  7.— IDENTIFICATION  OF  FORMS 

Score  in  Percent 

Boys 

Regression  equation  44 .  93 + 1 .  98  Age.    <r  17 .  90 

Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9       11.0-11.9       12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  63.3=hl.9         65.1±1.8        71. Oil. 7        70.1±2.5        71.9±1.7 
S.D 20. Oil. 4  18.8±1.3        17.5±1.2        25.5±1.8        18. Oil. 2 

Girls 
Regression  equation  31 .  96  +2 .  80  Age.    <r  19 .  60 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     57.9±1.8        57.7±1.8        64.9±1.9        61.5±1.5        67. Oil. 8 
S.D 18.5il.3        18.5il.3        19.3il.4        15.8il.2        19.2il.3 


80  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Table  8.— INSTRUCTION  BOX 

Number  of  Correct  Moves 

Boys 
Regression  equation  2 .  64  ± .  138  Age.    c  1 .  49 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     3.96±.15        3.57±.15        4.58±.13        4.77±.14        4.14±.14 
S.  D 1.55±.ll        1.51±.10        1.37±.09        1.39±.10        1.41±.10 

Girls 
Regression  equation  2 .  09  + .  170  Age.    tr  1 .  58 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.-10.9  11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  3.70±.16        3.94±.15        4.00±.18        4.24±.12        4.48±.15 
S.  D 1.59±.ll        1.55±.ll        1.85±.13        1.22±.08        1.53±.10 

Table  9 —NEEDLE  THREADING 

Number  of  Successes 

Boys 
Regression  equation  .301  Age.    (7  1.21 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  3.08±.ll        3.02±.13        3.13±.14        3.92±.ll        4.29db.08 
S.D 1.11±.08        1.38±.09        1.41±.10        1.08±.07  .78±.05 

Girls 
Regression  equation  1 .  54  + .  22  Age.    a  .  937 
Age  9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9      13.0-13.9 

Mean....     3.37±.ll      4. 17  it. 09        4.02±.09        4.12±.08        4.46±.07 
S.D 1.07±.07        .93±.06  .93±.06  .87±.06  .78±.05 

Table  10.— NAIL  DRIVING 

distance  in  Sixteenths  of  an  Inch 

Boys 
Regression  equation  28 .  10  +2 .  34  Age.    cr  14 .  70 
Age 9.0-9.9        10. 0-10. 9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     51.1±1.5      49.1dbl.5        58.5±1.5      56.96±.90        61.1±1.3 
S.D 15.6±1.1      15.6±1.1        15.4±1.1        9.20±.64      13.20±.86 

Girls 
Regression  equation  14 .  91  +2 .  93  Age.    o- 14 .  43 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     41.2d=1.2      47.6±1.6        53. Oil. 6         45.6±1.4      57-.10±.97 
S.D 11.60±.81      16.6±1.2        16.2±l.i        14.10±.96      10.20±.68 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  81 

Table  11.— PICTURE  COMPLETION  INDEX 

Boys 

Regression  equation  9 .  49  + .  183  Age.      <r .  564 

Age......      9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  11.16±.02      11.45±.03      11.65±.02      11.89±.02      11.88±.02 
S.  D 54±.02  .59±.02  .50±.02  .53±.02  .53±.02 

Girls 

Regression  equation  10 .  46  + .  100  Age.      c .  430 

Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  11.39±.01      11.53±.02      11.79±.02      11.80±.02      11.83±.02 
S.  D 33±.01  .43±.01  .38±.01  .43±.01  .41±.01 

Since  individual  indices  were  computed  only  from  standings  for  score  and  time, 
the  means  for  indices  based  on  scores  were  obtained  by  substituting  the  mean 
score  and  mean  time  for  each  age  in  the  index  formula  (see  page  41).  The 
standard  deviation  was  obtained  from  the  following  formula, 

^a;V259.6  +  t/ W9.5  -  2a;?/r59.5  ^9.5  0-59.5  0-1,9.5. 
Since  the  last  expression  was  of  negligible  size  the  formula  was  used  in  the  form 

This  procedure  was  checked  by  obtaining  the  values  from  the  actual  indices  figured 
from  the  score  and  time  for  one  age  and  was  found  to  be  entirely  legitimate. 

Table  12.— PICTURE  COMPLETION  TIME  IN  SECONDS 

Boys 
Age 9.0-9.9        10.O-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  278.4±9.1    221.9±7.8      209.9±7.9      196.5±8.4      204.9±9.0 
S.  D 93.1±6.4      80.7±5.5        80.0±5.6        85.9±5.9        93.2±6.3 

Girls 
Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9  11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9      13.0-13.9 

Mean....  269.0±9.9    270     ±11  256.8±8.5      236.2±9.4    231.9db9.2 

S.D 99.4±7.0    112. 0±  7.8        86.7±6.1      105.0±7.2      96.7±6.5 

Table  13.— PICTURE  COMPLETION  SCORE 

Boys 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13,9 

Mean....     8.94±.33        9.82±.39      11.06±.32      12.5  ±.34      12.67±.33 
S.D 3.43±.24        4.01±.27        3.27±.23        3.48±.24        3.41±.23 

Girls 
Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     7.59±.29      9.04±.38      11.40±.35      10.14±.38      11.42±.36 
S.D 2.92±.20      3.86±.27        3.59±.25        3.95±.27        3.77±.25 


82  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Table  14.— PROBLEM  BOX 

/Score 

Boys 
Regression  equation  —  1 .  27  + .  370  Age.    0-1.31 
Age 9.0-9.9        10. 0-10. 9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     1.96±.12      2.74±.13        3.22±.12        3.66±.13        3.38±.12 
S.  D 1.25±.08      1.33±.09        1.22±.08        1.32±.09        1.25±.08 

Girls 
Regression  equation  — .  317  + .  286  Age.    o- 1 .  37 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     2.42±.12      2.74±.13        3.22±.14        3.25±.13        3.64±.14 
S.  D 1.25±.08      1.40±.09        1.45±.10        1.33±.09        1.43±.10 

Table  15.— PROBLEM  BOX 

Time  in  Seconds  for  Successful  Performances 

Boys 
Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  158     ±13      119     ±11  80.0±9.0  64.0±7.6  67.0±6.4 

S.  D 108. 0±  9.0  113. 7±  7.7  93.9±6.4  78.7±5.4  66.8±4.5 

Percent  of 
successes         66  98  98  96  98 

Girls 
Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  132     ±11      106.0±9.1  94.0±8.7  95.0±9.8  84.0±9.4 

S.  D 98.6±  7.7    84.0±6.4  84.9±6.1  95.8±6.9  95.7±6.6 

Percent  of 
successes  74  78  88  92  94 

Table  16.— MEMORY  FOR  OBJECTS 

Score  in  Percent 

Boys 
Regression  equation  67 .  33  + .  377  Age.    tr  1 1 .  70 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9      13.0-13.9 

Mean....  68.3  ±1.2      73.08±.99      74.0  ±1.3        71.67±.97    72.0±1.1 
S.  D 12.00±  .83    10.30±.70      13.20±  .92        9.94±.68    11. 3±  .77 

Girls 
Regression  equation  61 .  26  +1 .  28  Age.    a  9 .  94 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9      13.0-13.9 

Mean....  72.8  ±1.5      74.1  ±1.3      75.6  ±1.0      78.5  ±1.1    77.9  ±1.2 
S.D 11.60±  .81     13.40±  .94    10.20±  .71     11.20±  .76  12.40±  .83 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  83 

Table  17.— KNOX  CUBES 

Memory  Span 

Boys 
"■                            Regression  equation  3 .  88  + .  142  Age.    a  1 .  64 
Age 11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13. 0-13. 9J 

Mean 5.32±.17        5.42±.17        5.78±.14 

S.D 1.76±.12        1.77±.12        1.45±.10 

Girls 
Regression  equation  —  2 .  65  + .  680  Age.    <r  1 .  47 
Age 11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean 5.60±.14       5.68±.14       6.44±.15 

S.D 1.46±.10        1,44±.10        1.55±.10 

Table  18.— HEALY  "A" 

Score 

Boys 
Regression  equation    — .  349  +  •  287  Age.     a  1 .  36 
Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     2.08±.13      3.06±.13        3.10±.13        3.32±.14        3.38±.13 
S.D 1.39d=.09      1.38=b.09        1.31±.09        1.49±.10        1.36±.09 

Girls 
Regression  equation  .  159  +  •  245  Age.     a- 1 .  33 
Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....    2.54±.13      2.64±.13       3.08±.13       3.06=b.l3       3.70±.12 
S.D 1.33±.09      1.40±.09        1.34±.09        1.35±.09        1.27±.08 

Table  19.— HEALY  "A" 

Time  in  Seconds  for  Successfxil  Performances 

Boys 
Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  181     ±13      108.0±8.9  109.0±9.4  118     ±12  100.0±9.1 

S.D 120. 0±  8.9    87.6±6.3  92.3±6.6  121. 8±  8.4  94.3±6.5 

Percent  of 

successes           82                  88  90                   96  96 

Girls 
Age 9.0-9.9         10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  153     ±16  150     ±12  118     ±10  149  ±13  89.0±7.7 

S.D 140     ±11  110. 1±  8.4  99.2±  7.2  136. 0±  9.4  78.2±5.4 

Percent  of 
successes         72  78  86  94  94 


84  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Table  20 —HEALY  "B'^ 

Time  in  Seconds  for  Successful  Performances 

^  Boys 

Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.Q-13.9 

Mean....  205dbl6  178     ±14  161     ±11  151     ±13  182±15 

S.  D 129±11  123. 0±  9.6  100. 9±  7.5  124. 5±  9.3  145±10 

Percent  of 
successes         62  74  82  80  80 

Girls 
Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  207±16  196±16  152     ±12  199     ±15  146.0±8.1 

S.  D 119±12  117±11  106. 3±  8.4  140±11  77.9±5.'* 

Percent  of 

successes  52                    48                   72  76  84 

Table  21.-OAIID  SORTING  TIME  IN  SECONDS 
Boys 

Regression  equation  95 .  28  -  3 .  74  Age.    o-  9 .  35 
Age 9.0-9.9         10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  61.8  ±1.1    55.27±.94      49.94±.79      47.63±.84      44.94±.68 
S.  D 10.90±.75      9.77±.66        8.00±.56        8.65±.60        7.06±.48 

Girls 
Regression  equation  83 .  16  —  2 .  92  Age.    <7  9 .  97 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  54.44±.91    51.9  ±1.3      51.2  ±1.1      46.80±.85      42.60±.63 
S.  D 9.18±.64    13.00±  .91    11.10±  .78      8.85±.60        6.62±.44 

Table  22.— CARD  SORTING  ACCURACY  IN  PERCENT 

Boys 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  97.70±.34    98.37±.32      98.49±.27      98.30±.22      97.78±.23 
S.  D 3.62±.24      3.39±.23        2.83±.19        2.29±.16        2.40±.16 

Girls 
Age 9.0-9.9         10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  99.32±.10    99.19±.15      99.10±.13      98.93±.14      99.33±.ll 
S.  D 1.08±.07      1.61±.ll        1.34±.09        1.51±.10        1.15^.08 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  86 

Table  23 —CANCELLATION  INDEX 

Boys 

Regression  equation  9 .  44  + .  187  Age.    a  .  569 

Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9      .13.0-13.9' 

Mean....   11.09±.04      11.50±.03      11.68±.03      11.73±.03      11.92±.02 
S.  D 1.00±.03  .57±.02  .57±.02  .67±.02  .51=t.02 

Girls 

Regression  equation  8 .  62  + .  259  Age.  a   .  626 

Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....   11.03±.04      11.46±.04      11.56±.03      11.80±.03      12.10±.03 

S.  D 80±.03  .99±.03  .76±.02  .64±.02  .58±.02 

See  note  on  Picture  Completion  Index,  p.  81 

Table  24.— CANCELLATION  TIME  IN  SECONDS 

Boys 
Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  327     ±12      303.7±6.7      281.4±6.8      261.2±7.8      247.7±5.9 
S.  D 122. 0±  8.4    69.2±4.7        69.0±4.8        80.4±5.5        61.1±4.2 

Girls 

Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  319.4±8.4    285     dzll        287.7±7.3      257.9±6.9      227.4±6.1 
S.  D 84.9zb5.9    113. 0±  7.9      73.7±5.2        72.0±4.9        63.8±4.3 

Table  25.— CANCELLATION  ACCURACY  IN  PERCENT 

Boys 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     74.2±1.9    83.2  ±1.1      84.3  ±1.1      80.7  ±1.3      84.22±.99 
S.  D 19.3±1.3    11.00±  .75    11.20±   .78    13.30±  .92    10.30±.70 

Girls 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.09 

Mean....     75.4±1.5      80.7±1.7        84.3±1.6        85.0  ±1.1      87.5  ±1.0 
S.D 15.1±1.1      17.2±1.2        16.1±1.1        11.30±  .77    10.70±.72 


86  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Table  26.— SUBSTITUTION  TIME  IN  SECONDS  Pages  1-3 

BOTS 

Regression  equation  968 .  62  -42 .  89  Age.    tr  114 .  10 

Age 9.0-9.9          10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean....  582     ±14      513     ±12        456.3±9.4  430.2±9.6  409.6±7.8 

S.D 140. 0±  9.7  121. 0±  8.2      95.1±6.7  98.9±6.8  80.9±5.5 

Girls 
Regression  equation  908 .  11  -37 .  98  Age.    cr  113 .  01 

Age 9.0-9.9          10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean....  557     ±13      483     ±12        480     ±12  432.8±9.5  390.2±6.3 

S.D 134. 0±  9.4  120. 0±  8.4     124. 0±  8.7  98.4±6.7  65.8±4.4 

Table  27.— SUBSTITUTION  TIME  IN  SECONDS  Page  1 

Boys 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean....  248.8±7.1    213.3±4.4      194.8±4.5  174.8±3.4  168.1±2.7 

S.D 73.1±5.0      45.5±3.1        46.0±3.2  35.2±2.4  28.3±1.9 

Girls 

Age 9.0-9.9          10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean....  233.5±5.4    206.2±5.9      191.3±5.3  176.0±4.1  161.2±3.0 

S.D 54.5±3.8      59.5±4.2        54.1±3.8  42.5±2.9  31.8±2.1 

Table  28.— SUBSTITUTION  TIME  IN  SECONDS  Page  2 

Boys 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean....  179.0±4.5    164.8±4.4      140.8±2.9  138.4±3.9  130.4±3.0 

S.D 46.3±3.2      45.4±3.1        29.5±2.1  39.8±2.7  31.5±2.1 

Girls 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean....  174.8±4.9    148.5±3.9      154.9±4.5  136.9±3.2  121.3±2.4 

S.D 49.1±3.4      39.3±2.8        46.8±3.3  33.3±2.3  25.4±1.7 

Table  29.— SUBSTITUTION  TIME  IN  SECONDS  Page  3 

Boys 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean....  154.1±4.2    136.4±3.9      120.7±3.1  117.0±3.3  112.5±2.7 

S.D 43.5±3.0      40.5±2.8        31.2±2.2  34.1±2.4  28.1±1.9 

Girls 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean....   148.6±4.0    128.1±3.2      131.6±4.4  119.9±3.4  107.6±2.5 

S.D 39.9±2.8      32.3±2.3        44.6±3.1  35.6±2.4  26.1±1.7 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  87 

Table  30.— SUBSTITUTION  TIME  IN  SECONDS  Page  4 

Boys 

Age 9.0-9.9       10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean....  148.1±6.1    130.4±3.8      114.5±2.6      107.6db2.8  114.1±4.2 

S.  D 62.8±4.3      39.4±2.7        26.8±1.9        28.8d=2.0  43.2db2.9 

Girls 

Age 9.0-9.9       10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean....  141.1±5.0    133.0db9.0      133.9db5.5      121.7^4.3  114     ±15 

S.D 51.0±3.6      91.9±6.4        55.6±3.9        44.4d:3.0  40.6±  2.7 

Table  31.— SUBSTITUTION  ACCURACY  IN  PERCENT        Page  4 

BOTS 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean....  91.3  ±1.4    92.4  ±1.2      94.77±.73      93.75±.90  92.6  ±1.1 

S.D 14.00±  .97  12.10±  .82      7.37±.52        9.27±.64  11.60±  .79 

GlHLS 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9"] 

Mean....  93.96±.96    91.2  ±1.4      93.0  ±1.1      92.8  ±12  94.2  ±1.0 

S.D 9.61±.67    13.80±  .95    11.20±  .78    12.50±  .85  10.90±  .73 

Table  32.— DIGITS 

Memory  Span 

Boys 
Regression  equation  5 .  26  + .  183  Age.    cr  1 .  03 
Age 10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean 7.04±.08        7.40±11  7.26±.10  7.84±.10 

SS 89±.06        1.17±.08        1.00±.07        1.03±.07 

Girls 
Regression  equation  4 .  68  +  •  226  Age.    <r  1 .  16 
Age 10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean 6.96±.ll        7.52±.ll        7.52±.ll  7.70±.ll 

S.D 1.13±.08        1.20±.08        1.12±.08  1.08±.07 


88  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Table  33.— STEADINESS 

Rightrhand  Score 

Boys 

Regression  equation  128 .  46  -  5 .  23  Age.    o- 16 .  98 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  82.8  ±1.2      72.8±1.6        74.2±1.5        59.9±1.6        62.3±1.6 
S.D 12.12±  .81    17.2±1.1        15.5±1.0        17. Oil. 2        16.8±1.1 

Girls 

Regression  equation  1 19 .  72  -  5 .  22  Age.    cr  17 .  71 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     67.7±1.7      69.3±1.5        66.2±1.7        57.7±1.6        47.  4±1.4 
S.D 18.3±1.2      16.3±1.1        17.4=1=1.2        17.4±1.2        14.54=b.97 

Table  34.— STEADINESS 

Left-hand  Score 

Boys 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.O-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13. 0-13.9] 

Mean....  91.1  ±1.0    83.1  ±1.3      83.5  ±1.4        70.7±1.6        70.2±1.6 
S.D 10.74±  .72  13.88±  .93    14.40±  .96      16.5±1.1        16.5±1.1 

Girls 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....     81.0±1.5      77.4±1.5        75.6±1.3        67.2±1.7        58.6±1.5 
S.D 15.5±1.0      15.8±1.1      13.26±  .89      17.9±1.2        15.6±1.0 

Table  35.— STRENGTH  OF  GRIP  IN  KILOGRAMS 

Right  Hand 

Boys 

Regression  equation  — 10 .  73  +2 .  63  Age.    <r  4 .  11 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9      12.0-12.09        13.0-13.9 

Mean....   15.51±.24    16.70±.39      21.16±.39      23.23±.33      25.93±.61 
S.D 2.53±.17      4.12±.28        4.06±.28        3.45±.23        6.44±.43 

Girls 

Regression  equation  —  1 .  39 + 1 .  68  Age.    <r  4 .  44 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  14.01±.25    15.06±.24      17.49±.29      19.82±.42      23.97±.44 
S.D 2.60±.17      2.57±.17        3.08±.21        4.38±.29        4.60±.31 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


89 


Table  36.— STRENGTH  OF  GRIP  IN  KILOGRAMS 

Left  Hand 

Boys 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....   14. Hi. 22      15.19±.27      19.07±.40  20.29±.31 

S.  D 2.32±.16        2.81db.l9        4.14±.28        3.30±.22 

Girls 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9 

Mean....  11.99±.22      13.33±.25      15.38±.25  17.54±.43 

S.  D 2.32±.16        2.62db.l8        2.63±.18        4.54±.30 


22.91db.58 
6.13±.41 


13.0-13.9 


21.12±.39 
4.05±.27 


Table  37.— STRENGTH  OF  GRIP  IN  KILOGRAMS 

Average  of  Left  and  Right  Hands 

Boys 

Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-01.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9      13.0-13.9 

Mean....  14.81±.22      16.05dz.27      20.11±.38  21.73±.31      24.42±.59 

S.  D 2.27±.15        2.81±.19        3.97±.27  3.22±.22        6.21±.42 

Girls 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  13.00d=.22      14.20±.23      16.44±.26  18.68±.41      22.55db.40 

S.  D 2.28±.15        2.46db.l6        2.75±.18  4.34±.29        4.16±.28 


Age 9.0-9.9 

Mean 9.06±.05 

S.  D 51±.03 

Age 9.0-9.9 

Mean 8.98±.07 

S.  D 76±.05 


Table  38.— BINET 

Mental  Age 

Boys 
10.O-10.9        11.0-11.9 


12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 


9.56±.06        9.98±.05    10.19±.06      10.43±.06 
.66±.05  .56±.04        .68±.05  .64±.04 


Girls 
10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 


12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 


9.38±.08 
.87±.06 


10.02±.10 

.98±.07 


10.10±.09 
.93±.06 


10.65±.07 
.72±.05 


00 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


Table  39 .— BINET  TESTS 

Percent  of  Successes  for  Individual  Tests 

Boys 


Age 

9.0-9.9 

10.0-10.9 

11.0-11.9 

12.0-12.9 

13.0-13.9 

VIII 

Test  1... 

96 

100 

100 

98 

100 

2... 

86 

98 

98 

98 

100 

3... 

78 

94 

88 

92 

94 

4... 

66 

96 

98 

96 

96 

5... 

100 

98 

100 

100 

100 

IX 

Test  1... 

80 

84 

96 

90 

96 

2... 

14 

27 

32 

26 

62 

3... 

44 

63 

74 

88 

86 

4... 

76 

92 

84 

92 

84 

5... 

66 

80 

88 

96 

94 

X 

Test  1.. 

70 

82 

92 

80 

86 

2.,. 

6 

16 

28 

46 

40 

3... 

22 

33 

42 

54 

72 

4... 

2 

14 

34 

39 

36 

5... 

66 

51 

74 

74 

74 

XII 

Test  1... 

26 

6 

30 

20 

26 

2... 

40 

35 

53 

49 

66 

3... 

34 

49 

74 

76 

78 

4... 

14 

39 

40 

62 

78 

5... 

12 

39 

58 

66 

68 

XV 

Test  1... 

66 

72 

76 

86 

84 

2... 

0 

26 

23 

23 

14 

3... 

4 

0 

4 

0 

4 

4... 

14 

16 

16 

50 

40 

5... 

0 

5 

4 

6 

14 

The  tests  are  listed  in  the  order  given  in  the  Town  Appendix 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


91 


Table  40.— BINET  TESTS 

Percent  of  Successes  for  Individual  Tests 

Girls 


Age 

9.0-9.9 

10.0-10.9 

11.0-11.9 

12.0-12.9 

13.0-13.9 

VIII 

Test  1... 

96 

96 

98 

100 

100 

2... 

96 

96 

100 

98 

100 

3... 

76 

84 

96 

84 

100 

4... 

76 

90 

100 

94 

98 

5... 

98 

98 

100 

100 

100 

IX 

Test  1... 

84 

78 

88 

90 

92 

2... 

28 

32 

36 

55 

70 

3... 

22 

44 

67 

61 

92 

4... 

84 

88 

98 

94 

100 

5... 

78 

80 

90 

90 

98 

X 

Test  1... 

60 

74 

88 

80 

76 

2... 

14 

12 

29 

88 

58 

3... 

20 

22 

44 

61 

74 

4... 

8 

20 

29 

48 

74 

6... 

40 

48 

67 

68 

76 

XII 

Test  1... 

28 

34 

30 

36 

26 

2... 

22 

10 

33 

81 

50 

3... 

34 

fiO 

54 

65 

82 

4... 

12 

28 

44 

65 

82 

6... 

20 

34 

61 

58 

74 

XV 

Test  1... 

56 

68 

79 

84 

84 

2... 

0 

14 

15 

27 

22 

3... 

2 

6 

13 

6 

20 

4... 

10 

14 

19 

23 

22 

5... 

0 

0 

9 

6 

16 

The  teste  are  listed  in  the  order  given  in  the  Town  Appendix 


92  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Table  41.— YERKES  POINT  SCALE 

Total  Score 

Boys 

Regression  equation  11 .  05  +4. .  73  Age.    c  8 .  76 

Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  53.80d=.77      62.28±.88      67.40=fc.90      71.46±.94      73.88±.80 
S.  D 8.06db.54        9.11±.62        9.37±.63        9.81±.66        8.39±.69 

Girls 

Regression  equation  10 .  33  +4 .  85  Age.    o- 10 .  62 

Age 9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 

Mean....  64.86±.90    58.4  ±1.1      67.7  ±1.1      71.7  ±1.0      79.14±.83 
S.  D 9.43±.63    11.48±  .77    11.19±  .77    10.87±  .74      8.72±.68 

Table  42.— YERKES  POINT  SCALE 

Mean  Score  for  Individual  Tests 

Boys 

Total 


Age 

. .  9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9  11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9   Mean 

<T 

Test  1... 

..      2.9 

3.0 

3.0 

3.0 

3.0 

2.99  ±.01 

.15  ±.00 

2... 

..      3.7 

3.8 

3.9 

3.9 

3.9 

3.83  ±.02 

.50  ±.02 

3... 

..      2.9 

3.0 

3.0 

3.0 

3.0 

2.98  ±.01 

.13  ±.00 

4... 

..      4.4 

4.4 

4.6 

4.7 

4.8 

4.59  ±.03 

.65  ±.02 

6... 

..      3.5 

4.0 

3.9 

4.0 

4.0 

3.89  ±.03 

.59  ±.02 

6... 

..      2.3 

2.4 

2.4 

2.6 

2.6 

2.49  ±.04 

.94  ±.03 

7... 

..      6.4 

6.7 

6.6 

7.4 

7.3 

6.87  ±.06 

1.39  ±.04 

8... 

..      1.6 

1.8 

1.9 

1.9 

1.9 

1.82  ±.02 

.46  ±.01 

9... 

..      4.3 

5.4 

5.2 

5.4 

5.5 

5.16  ±.05 

1.08  ±.03 

10... 

..      5.0 

5.3 

5.1 

5.4 

5.8 

5.34  ±.05 

1.24  ±.04 

11... 

..      1.8 

2.1 

2.1 

2.5 

2.1 

2.12  ±.04 

.98  ±.03 

12... 

..      3.4 

3.6 

3.5 

3.8 

3.8 

3.62  ±.03 

.66  ±.02 

13... 

..      2.1 

2.7 

3.2 

3.2 

3.3 

2.81  ±.04 

1.02  ±.03 

14... 

..      2.4 

2.4 

3.3 

3.2 

3.3 

2.96  ±.06 

1.50  ±.05 

16... 

,.      2.2 

3.4 

4.3 

4.9 

5.2 

4.01  ±.08 

1.81  ±.05 

16... 

.8 

1.2 

1.8 

2.4 

2.1 

1.67  ±.06 

1.28  ±.04 

17... 

..      1.0 

1.3 

1.3 

1.9 

2.1 

1.52  ±.06 

1.42±.04 

18... 

..      1.2 

2.8 

3.6 

3.7 

4.0 

3.04  ±.10 

2.23  ±.07 

19... 

.8 

1.8 

2.4 

2.7 

3.5 

2.25  ±.08 

1.91  ±.06 

20... 

..      1.0 

1.6 

2.1 

1.8 

2.5 

1.82  ±.06 

1.40  ±.04 

TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


93 


Table  43— YERKES  POINT  SCALE 
Mean  Score  for  Individual  Tests 

GiBLS 


Total 


Age 

. .  9.0-9.9  lO.Q-10.9  11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9   Mean 

a 

Test  1... 

,.      3.0 

3.0 

3.0 

3.0 

3.0 

3.00  ±.00 

.00  ±.00 

2... 

. .      3.9 

3.7 

3.9 

3.8 

3.9 

3.84  ±.02 

.46  ±.01 

3... 

..      2.9 

3.0 

2.9 

3.0 

3.0 

2.95  ±.01 

.33  ±.01 

4... 

..      4.3 

4.2 

4.6 

4.7 

4.8 

4.52  ±.03 

.79  ±.02 

5... 

..      3.8 

3.7 

4.0 

3.9 

4.0 

3.89  ±.02 

.58  ±.02 

6... 

..      2.3 

2.3 

2.8 

2.7 

3.5 

2.72  ±.06 

1.28  ±.04 

7... 

..      6.3 

6.2 

6.8 

6.8 

6.8 

6.59  ±.05 

1.07  ±.03 

8... 

. .      1.6 

1.7 

.9 

1.9 

1.8 

1.77  ±.02 

.54  ±.02 

9... 

..      4.5 

4.8 

5.1 

5.3 

5.5 

5.02  ±.03 

1.17±.04 

10... 

..      5.1 

5.0 

5.7 

5.7 

6.3 

5.55  ±.06 

1.45  ±.04 

11... 

..      1.9 

2.4 

2.3 

2.4 

2.7 

2.33  ±.04 

.99  ±.03 

12... 

..      2.9 

3.2 

3.5 

3.7 

3.8 

3.42  ±.05 

1.18±.04 

13... 

. .      2.0 

2.3 

2.7 

2.9 

3.4 

2.66  ±.05 

1.13  ±.03 

14... 

..      1.8 

2.0 

2.6 

3.1 

2.9 

2.55  ±.07 

1.58  ±.05 

15... 

. .      3.0 

3.1 

4.4 

5.2 

6.5 

4.44±.10 

2.23  ±.07 

16... 

. .      1.1 

1.3 

1.7 

2.4 

2.5 

1.71  ±.06 

1.28  ±.04 

17... 

1.0 

.9 

1.4 

2.0 

2.5 

1.54  ±.06 

1.42  ±.04 

18... 

..      1.5 

2.4 

4.0 

3.8 

4.7 

3.24  ±.10 

2.24  ±.07 

19... 

.9 

1.8 

2.4 

3.4 

4.2 

2.53  ±.09 

2.07  ±.06 

20... 

1.1 

1.5 

1.8 

2.4 

3.1 

1.96  ±.07 

1.54  ±.05 

Table  44.— KNOX  CUBES 

PiNTNER  Method 

Percent  Passing  Combinations  Used  as  Age  Tests 

Boys 

Age 9.0-9.9      10.0-10.9      11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9 

IBCD 100               100                  96  100 

2BCD 92                92                  90  90 

lEFG 80                82                  80  76 

3BCD 57                65                  58  68 

2EFGHIJ ...                   64  58 

Girls 

Age 9.0-9.9      10.0-10.9      11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9 

IBCD 100                98                 100  100 

2BCD 96                94                  96  96 

lEFG 82                74                  85  90 

3BCD 61                 60                  62.5  70 

2EFGHIJ ...                   62.5  62 


13.0-13.9 

98 
98 
94 
74 
68 


13.0-13.9 

100 
98 

86 
80 
82 


94 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


Table  45.— KNOX  CUBES 

PiNTNER  Method 

Number  of  Lines  Passed 


Age 9.0-9.9 

Average 4.74 

Average  deviation      1.24 

Age 9.0-9.9 

Average 4.92 

Average  deviation      1.00 


Boys 

10.0-10.9      11.0-11.9 

5.20  5.34 

.963  1.37 

Girls 
10.0-10.9      11.0-11.9 
5.04  5.60 


12.0-12.9 

5.42 
1.42 


1.17 


1.23 


5.68 
1.24 


13.0-13.9 

5.78 
1.12 


12.0-12.9      13.0-13.9 


6.44 
1.30 


Table  46.— KNOX  CUBES 

PiNTNER  Method 
Perent  of  Siuxesses  per  Line 

BOTS 


Age 

9.0-9.9 

10.0-10.9 

11.0-11.9 

12.0-12.9 

13.0-13.9 

A 

94 

98 

96 

98 

96 

B 

84 

88 

76 

84 

94 

G 

73 

78 

80 

82 

80 

D 

90 

92 

88 

92 

96 

E 

57 

47 

44 

44 

52 

F 

37 

55 

50 

50 

50 

G 

39 

67 

56 

46 

60 

H 

, , , 

. . 

10 

6 

0 

I 

, . , 

, , 

16 

26 

28 

J 

•  • 

G1RL8 

18 

14 

22 

Age 

9.0-9.9 

10.0-10.9 

11.0-11.9 

12.0-12.9 

13.0-13.9 

A 

100 

98 

98 

100 

98 

B 

90 

90 

85 

92 

96 

G 

73 

82 

81 

74 

84 

D 

94 

80 

92 

100 

98 

E 

53 

52 

56 

62 

64 

F 

39 

42 

50 

40 

52 

G 

43 

54 

46 

60 

70 

H 

, , , 

, , 

8 

6 

22 

I 

,,,.,,,    , , 

, , 

21 

18 

34 

J 

, , , 

, , 

23 

16 

26 

TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


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TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


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114  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OP 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  MATURITY  SCALE 

A  SCALE  has  been  selected  from  the  tests  used  in  this 
investigation.  The  resulting  advantages  are  two:  a  more 
convenient  form  for  use  than  a  number  of  separate  tests, 
and  the  elimination  of  those  tests  which  are  least  useful 
for  a  particular  purpose  or  which  duplicate  others  too 
closely. 

The  most  common  method  of  combining  tests  is  that 
first  used  by  Binet.  Here  the  age  level  of  the  di:fferent 
tests  is  determined,  the  results  scored  in  terms  of  these  age 
levels,  and  the  total  given  as  the  sum  of  the  age  levels.  It 
is  not  necessary  to  discuss  the  value  and  shortcomings  of 
this  method  here  since  our  tests  do  not  lend  themselves 
to  this  method  of  handling.  Differentiation  of  subjects  is 
obtained  in  our  series  by  scoring  the  amount  accomplished 
for  tests  given  to  all  subjects,  not  by  giving  tests  with 
diifferent  age  levels  to  different  subjects.  This  method  has 
the  advantage  of  giving  a  much  finer  differentiation  than 
a  plus  and  minus  scoring,  and  allows  for  measuring  the 
combined  results  by  as  many  quantitative  standards  as  are 
available. 

Such  graded  results  can  be  objectively  combined  accord- 
ing to  two  different  principles.  The  first  aims  to  satisfy 
the  demand  for  a  measure  of  general  intelligence,  and  is 
suggested  by  the  theory  that  intelligence  is  a  general  quality 
which  can  be  summarized  from  a  body  of  test  results.  Here 
the  combination  is  made  by  selecting  the  tests  which  indiv- 
idually show  the  highest  correlations  with  the  total  series 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  115 

of  tests.  This  involves  two  assumptions  which  we  wished 
to  avoid;  that  a  test  situation  gets  at  the  essential  factors 
in  general  intelligence  and  that  tests  highly  correlated  with 
their  own  total  each  must  necessarily  function  in  identifying 
intelligence.  A  high  relation  to  the  total  must  as  a  rule 
carry  with  it  high  interrelations  between  the  tests,  so  that 
there  is  a  considerable  duplication  of  measurement.  Since 
the  tests  themselves  are  taken  as  the  standard  of  intelligence 
and  each  one  is  related  only  to  the  total,  there  is  no  way 
of  analyzing  what  aspect  of  intelligence  is  tested  or  what 
part  each  test  plays  in  arriving  at  the  total. 

The  second  method  of  selecting  tests  having  graded 
scores  has  advantages  which  seemed  to  justify  its  adoption 
for  developing  a  scale  in  addition  to  those  already  in  use. 
The  tests  are  chosen  with  reference  to  a  measurable 
criterion  outside  the  test  series.  They  are  further  chosen 
so  that  they  do  not  overlap  but  represent  as  completely  as 
possible  the  series  of  adjustments  called  forth  by  the  tests. 
The  score  is  stated  in  terms  of  the  relation  of  the  child's 
deviation  from  the  average  to  the  standard  deviation  of  his 
age  group.  This  makes  it  immediately  obvious  where  the 
child  in  question  stands  with  relation  to  other  children  of 
the  same  age.  A  further  divergence  from  the  usual  pro- 
cedure is  the  use  of  separate  scales  for  boys  and  girls,  which 
seemed  to  be  called  for  by  the  sex  differences  appearing  in 
the  results. 

The  criterion  chosen  for  the  selection  of  the  tests  was 
chronological  age.  It  was  applied  by  selecting  those  tests 
having  the  highest  correlation  with  age.  The  age  of  the 
child  is  a  definite  obtainable  fact,  can  be  measured  on  a 
linear  scale  and  varies  between  sufficiently  wide  limits.  The 
scale  places  a  child  with  reference  to  other  children  of  the 
same  age,  with  regard  to  those  test  measurements  which  are 
changing  with  age.  Whether  the  qualities  which  change 
with  age  are  those  which  constitute  intelligence  is  another 
matter.    The  demonstration  of  such  a  relation  would  of 


116  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

course  give  the  scale  a  wider  value,  but  the  scale  does  not 
stand  or  fall  by  such  a  demonstration, 

It  was  further  desired  that  each  test  should  add  its 
independent  increment  to  the  correlation  with  age.  This 
was  accomplished  by  selecting  the  tests  having  the  highest 
correlation  with  age  for  constant  values  of  the  other  tests. 
In  this  way  equal  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  developing 
factors  in  each  test ;  if  this  is  not  done  several  tests  which 
give  duplicate  measurements  of  the  subject  may  be  included 
in  the  scale.  This  would  result  in  its  being  overbalanced 
in  favor  of  a  particular  developing  factor,  and  an  individual 
overdeveloped  in  that  direction  would  receive  a  higher  score 
than  one  more  normal. 

The  tests  having  the  highest  independent  relation  with 
age  were  thus  selected  separately  from  our  series  of  tests 
and  from  the  individual  tests  of  the  Yerkes  scale.* 

These  two  groups  were  recombined  into  a  new  series,  and 
the  partial  correlations  found  in  the  same  way  for  all  the 
tests  of  this  series.  The  multiple  correlation  coeffecient 
then  showed  just  how  much  each  test  added  to  the  total 
correlation  and  any  practically  useless  tests  were  dropped. 
The  remaining  tests  were  weighted  according  to  the  relative 
independent  contribution  of  each  test  in  the  group,  as 
determined  by  the  ratios  of  coefficients  expressing  the  rela- 
tion of  each  test  with  age  for  constant  values  of  the  other 
tests. 

The  scale  is  a  maturity  scale  not  because  it  attempts  to 
measure  maturity  but  because  it  states  the  position  of  any 

*The  scale  was  developed  from  the  following  tests:  Cancellation  Index 
Picture  Completion  Index,  Card  Sorting  Time,  Threading  Needles,  Driving  Nails 
Narrative  Pictures,  Identification  of  Forms,  Instruction  Box,  Cart  Construction 
Score,  Cart  Construction  Time,  Memory  for  Objects,  Problem  Box  Score,  Healy 
"A"  Score,  Substitution  Time,  pp.  1-3,  and  the  individual  tests  of  the  Yerkes 
Point  Scale.  Tests  Nos.  1,  2,  3,  5,  7,  8,  of  the  Point  Scale  were  omitted  because 
their  standard  deviation  approached  0.  Ejiox  Cubes  and  Memory  for  Digits 
were  omitted  because  the  data  were  incomplete;  Ball  and  Field  because  it  was 
not  scored  numerically,  and  Strength  and  Steadiness  because  they  do  not  seem 
to  belong  strictly  with  the  mental  tests. 


^ 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  117 

child  in  its  performance  with  reference  to  the  normal  per- 
formance of  children  of  the  same  age.  The  scale  is  so 
constructed  that  the  differentiation  between  age  groups  will 
be  as  complete  as  possible. 

It  must  not  be  thought,  however,  that  the  scale  which  we 
present  is  the  only,  the  best  or  the  final  maturity  scale.  The 
tests  which  are  left  in  the  scale  are  naturally  limited  by 
the  tests  which  were  originally  selected  for  experimentation 
and  had  other  and  better  tests  been  chosen  in  the  first  place, 
better  tests  would  appear  in  the  scales.  The  Maturity  Scale 
is  primarily  a  contribution  in  method  of  constructing  a 
series  of  tests  and  only  secondarily  a  device  for  practical 
use.  However,  it  is  believed  that  the  scales  warrant  use, 
especially  for  children  of  a  similar  environment  to  those 
described  here,  as  furnishing  a  foundation  for  psychological 
diagnosis. 

The  sex  differences  in  the  partial  correlations  with  age 
were  large  enough  to  indicate  that  the  use  of  the  same  scale 
for  boys  and  girls  was  not  the  ideal  procedure.  The  tests 
have  therefore  been  selected  for  the  two  sexes,  forming 
independent  series.  Many  of  the  tests  are  included  in  both, 
but  there  is  sufficient  variation  to  make  the  use  of  the  two 
scales  a  distinct  advantage. 

Maturity  Scale — ^Boys 

Weights 

Ti  =  Yerkes  No.  15  (Comprehending  Questions) + .  145 

T  =  Yerkes  No    19   (Hard  Definitions) + .  196 

Ts^Threading  Needles + .  166 

T4  =  Cancellation  Index + .  338 

T5  =  Cart  Construction  Score  1  and  2 +  .048 

T6  =  Card  Sorting  Time +.021 

T7  =  Problem  Box +.062 

Maturity  Scale — Girls 

Weights 

Ti  =  Yerkes  No.  15  (Comprehending  Questions) + .  180 

T8=Yerkes  No.  19  (Hard  Definitions) +.122 

T«  =  Threading  Needles +.116 

T<= Cancellation  Index +.011 

T6= Yerkes  No.  11   (Resisting  Suggestion) +.147 

T8  =  Yerkes  No.  18  (Dissected  Sentences) + .  062 


118  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Regression  Equations — ^Bots 

(1)  I  =  5.642  +  .145Ti+.196T2  +  .166T3  +  .338T4  +  .048T6-.021T64-.115T7 

(2)  I  =  6.086+. 4758  Age. 

(3)  <r/A=.689. 

Regression  Equations — Girls 

(1)  I=9.382  +  .18Tx  +  .122T2  +  .116T3  +  .011T4+.147T6+.062Ta 

(2)  1=7. 1548 +  .3848  Age. 

(3)  (7/4  =.498. 

These  regression  equations  are  used  to  find  the  total 
score  which  a  given  child  makes  in  the  Maturity  Scale.  The 
scores  which  the  child  actually  makes  in  the  tests  of  the 
scale  are  substituted  in  formula  1.  This  gives  the  child's 
maturity  index.  Then  the  child  *s  age  is  substituted  in 
formula  2.  This  gives  the  normal  index  for  his  age.  The 
difference  between  the  index  which  the  child  makes  by 
formula  1,  and  the  index  which  would  be  normal  at  his  age 
by  formula  2,  is  then  found.  This  difference  should  be  re- 
lated to  the  standard  deviation  of  the  index,  formula  3,  to 
show  how  the  variation  from  the  normal  of  this  particular 
child  compares  with  the  average  variation. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  119 


CHAPTER  VI 
SEX  DIFFERENCES 

In  order  to  emphasize  the  necessity  of  judging  the  sexes 
by  different  norms,  the  following  charts  are  presented.  To 
determine  the  significance  of  a  difference  it  was  related  to 
the  probable  error  of  the  difference  and  a  difference  of 
less  than  one  was  considered  *'No  Difference,"  from  one 
to  three,  a  ''Possible  Difference, '^  and  three  or  more  a 
' '  Probable  Difference. '  ^  Since  the  children  of  each  sex  were 
selected  on  exactly  the  same  basis  it  is  e\T.dent  that  varia- 
tions between  them  indicate  real  differences  and  are  not 
due  to  faulty  methods  of  selection. 

A  general  review  of  the  charts  reveals  a  distinct  sex 
difference  in  the  results  of  several  tests  but  it  cannot  be  said 
that  either  shows  a  marked  superiority  over  the  other  in 
general  performance.  It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  study 
to  inquire  into  the  origin  of  this  difference— whether  it  be 
inherent  or  due  to  training.  Our  purpose  is  to  show  why 
on  the  basis  of  our  material  it  seemed  necessary  to  judge 
the  sexes  by  separate  norms. 

Nine  tests  show  a  probable-difference.  Those  in  favor  of 
the  boys  are  Strength,  Cart  Construction  Time,  Cart  Con- 
struction Score  1  and  2,  Nail  Driving,  Identification  of 
Forms  and  Picture  Completion ;  those  in  favor  of  the  girls, 
Needle  Threading  and  Steadiness. 

Four  tests  show  a  possible  difference  which,  though 
Blight  in  some  instances,  appears  in  three  or  more  consecu- 
tive years.    The  boys  are  superior  in  Picture  Completion 


120  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

Score.  The  girls  are  superior  in  Memory  for  Objects,  Nar- 
rative Pictures,  Card  Sorting  Time  and  Knox  Cubes. 

No  difference  is  apparent  in  Yerkes  Points,  Binet 
Mental  Age,  Cancellation  Time,  Cancellation  Accuracy, 
Instruction  Box,  Digits,  Substitution  Time,  pages  1—3, 
Substitution  Time,  page  4,  Substitution  Accuracy,  Page  4, 
Ball  and  Field,  Healy  ^*A"  Time,  Healy  ''B'^  Time,  and 
Problem  Box  Time. 

It  was  not  possible  to  compute  sex  differences  in  the 
cases  of  Healy  '^A,'^  Healy  *'B,"  and  Problem  Box  because 
of  the  large  number  of  failures  resulting  from  our  consider- 
ing every  performance  which  extended  over  the  time  limit 
of  480"  a  failure.  In  the  case  of  Terman's  Ball  and  Field 
Test,  the  only  values  assigned  were  A,  B,  C,  and  D  which 
do  not  lend  themselves  to  mathematical  interpretation. 

However,  the  differences  which  do  exist  we  believe  to 
be  large  enough  and  frequent  enough  to  necessitate  judging 
each  sex  by  its  own  norms  unless  further  detailed  investiga- 
tions on  a  larger  group  than  ours  have  established  conclu- 
eively  that  no  real  sex  difference  exists. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


121 


STRENGTH   OF 

GRIP—  RIGHT 

HAJ^D 

PROBABLY  A  DlFFCRtNCt      SftSict        'dTeRENC?        S^LN^      PROBABLY  A  aFFLRENCE        | 

GIRL5EXCELL 

ACE 

ACE 
AGE 
ACE 

AGE 
AGE 

8 

9 

10 

BOYS  CXCLLL 

II 

12 

13 

Chart  1. 


CART      CONSTRUCTION     TIMt 

POSSIBLY  A        PROBABLY   NO          POSSIBLY  A                                                            1 
PROaABLY  A  DirfERCNCt        OirrCRCNCC          DlfTCRCNCL            DirrCRCNCE        PROBABLY  A  OirfCRCNf f        1 

CIRL5  CXCELL 

AGt 
ACE 

ACL 
AGE 
AGE 
AGE 

8 

9 

10 

BOYS  EXCELL 

II 

12 

13 

Chabt  2. 


122 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


CART    CONSTRUCTION    SCOf^E'r-2 


'ROeABLY  A  OirrCRENCt 

POSSIBLY  A        PROBABLY    NO 
OirrCRENCC           OirFERENCE 

POSSIBLY  A 

oirrcRCNCC 

PROBABLY  A  WFFCRENCE 

GIRLS  EXCELL 

i 

AGE. 
AGE 
AGE 
AGE 
AGE 
i       AGE 

8 

9 

10 

BOYS  CXCELL 

11 

12 
13 

Chart  3. 


NAIL    DRIVING 


POSSIBLY  A 
PROBABLY  A  OlFfERENCC     Oirrt.R[NCt 

PROBAflLY  NO 
DIFFERENCE 

POSSIBLY  A 

DirrCRENCC     PROBABLY  A  DIFFERENCE 

AGC 

AGE 

6 
9 

GIRLS  CXCCLL 

AH 
A&t 

10 

II 

BOYSKcai 

ACC 

\l 

AGE 

13 

Chart  4. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

IDENTIFICATION   OF   FORMS 


123 


^amam 

■■^B 



possiat  A 

PROBABLY  A  OirrtRENCE    WtTCRLNCC 

PROBABLY  NO 

oirfXRCNCc 

POSSIBLY  A 

cxrrtRCNCC 

PROBAeLY  A  DirrCREhCt 

CIRL5  aCCLL 

AGC 

AGt 
AOC 
fiO. 
AOt 
AGE 

8 

BOYS  W^CCLL 

9 

10 

n 

n 

13 

Chart  5. 


PICTURE  COMPLETION  TIM£ 


POSSIBLY  A  PROGAaY  NO 

PROBABLY  A  DirrtRDJCE    WmRtNCC        DirrCRCNCC 


POSSIBLY  A 

DirrcRCNCC    PRoeAw.Y  a  dutercnce 


GIRLS  EXCCLL 

ACt 
ACC 
AGC 
AGE 
AGC 
AGC 

3 

BOYS  EXCLLL 

9 

10 

II 

\z 

15 

1 

Chabt  6. 


124 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


IsiICDLt    THRTADIKIG 


POSSIBLY  A      PROBABLY   NO  POSSIBLY  A 

PROBABLY  A  orrcREiNCE    oirreRENCE      DirrtRENCE        oirrERENce  probably  a  difference 


GIRLS  EXCELL 

AGE 
ACE 

8 
9 

10 
II 

12 

13 

B0Y5  CXCCLL 

AGE 

AGE 

AGE 

AGE 

Chart  7 


STEADINESS RIGHT  "HAND  SCORE 


^^i^ 

I^^B^ 

^^M 

PROBABLY  A  DIFFERENCE 

POSSIBLY  A        PROBABLY  NO 
DIFFERENCE         DIFFERENCE 

P055IBLY  A 
DIFFERENCE 

PROBABLY  A  DIFFERENCE 

: 

AGE 

8 

i 

AGE 

9 

1 

i                   : 

1                          ; 

i 

BOYS  EXCELL 

GIRLS  EXCELL 

___AGE 

10 

AGE 

II 

^GE 

12 

1 

1 

1 

AGE 

i 
J3' 

1 

Chabt  8. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

PICTURE    COMPLETION    SCORE 


125 


POSSiaYA  PROWBLY    NO 

PROBABLY  A  OiriOENCt    DirrCRCNCC     _    DifrCRCNCC 


PQSSiat  A 

OirrCRCNCC    PROeABLY  a  OifrtRtNCC 


ACC 

8 

GIRLS  CXCCLL 

A&C 

9 

r 

BOYS  LACCLL 

A&C 

10 

AGC 
A&C 
ACt 

II 
12 
13 

Chart  9. 


^^^^ 

MEMORY   FOR    OBJECTS 

P05SIBLY  A           PROBABLY  NO 
PR0BA6LY  A  OlfFCREfCE       DfrCRCNCC               DirrCRD-'CC 

POSSIBLY  A 
OirFLRCNCC 

PROBABLY  A  OlFrtRCNCE 

CIRLS  EXCCLL 

AGC 
AGE 

8 
9 
10 
II 
12 
13 

B0Y5  D^dLL 

AGL 
ACE 

Act 

ACL 

Chart  10. 


126 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


narrative:   pictures 


POSSIBLY  A  PROaABLY  NO 

PROBABLY  A  DirrCRENCE    DirrCRCNCE  DiriTRCNCE 


POSSIBLY  A 

oirrcRENCC     probably  a  difference; 


ACE 
AGE 

8 
9 

10 
II 
\Z 
13 

-   ■  "      ■'■'■■ 

BOYS  EXCELL 

GIRLS  :XC[LL 

AGE 

AGE 

AGE 
AGE 

Chakt  11. 


CAKD    SORTING -TIME 


POSSIBLY  A  PROBABLY  NO  POSSIBLY  A 

PROBABLY  A  DirrERENCE     OlFrERENCE  DirEERENCC  DirrCRCNCC    PROBABLY  A  DlFrCRCNCE 


AGE 

8 

AGE 

^ 

B0Y6  CACCLL 

GIRLS  CXCCLL 

AGE 

10 

AGE 

n 

AGE 

12 

AGE 

13 

Chart  12. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


127 


■^ 

^^ 

KNOX  CUBES  — 

MEMORY  SPAN 

P055IBLY  A           PROBABLY  NO          F055IBLY  A 
PROBABLY  A  DIFFERENCE       DIFFERENCE         DIFFERENCE            DIFFERENCE      PROBABLY  A  DIFFERENCE 

AGE 

8 

/\GE 

9 

GIRLS  LXCLLL 

i 

BOYS  EXCELL 

; 

AGE 

10 

i 

AGE 

II 

AGE 

12 

AGE 

\z 

Chart  13. 


YERKE5 POINTS 


=„„=.o.v  .  o,r.rc«M,.r      POSSIBLY  A         FROBABClT  NO       POSSIBLY  A       ppno.o.y  .  niFFFRFwrr 
PROBABLY  A  DIFf  ERENCE.      DIFFERENCE        OFFERENCEl         DIFFERENCE     PROBABLY  A  DIFFERENCE 


AGE 

8 

/\G£ 

GIRLS' EXCCLL 

AGS 

10 

BOYS  CXCELL 

/vGE 

II 

AGE 

■ 

12 

AGE 

13 

1 

Chart  14. 


128 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

61NET  —  MENTAL  AGE 


P055(BLY  A 

PROBABLY  NO 

POSSIBLY  A 

PROBABLY  A  DIFFEiimCL     UfflKLHCL 

OiFFERE.NCE 

OlFrERENCE     PROBABLY  A  DIFFERENCE 

AGE 

8 

ACE 

9 

CIRL5LXCLLL 

AGE 

10 

BOYS  EXCELL 

1 

ACE 

II 

"" 

AGE 

12 

AGE 

13 

Chart  If^ 


CANCELLATION   TIME 


POSSIBLY  A  ' 
PROBABLY  A  OlFrlRtNCe     DIFfCRLNCE 

PROBABLY  NO 
DIfTCRCNCC 

POSSIBLY  A 

OirrCRCNCC    probably  a  DIFFEReNCe 

A&C 

8 

AGC 

9              ! 

1 

GIRLS  EXCCLL 

AGE 
AGE 

10 
II 

BOYS  LXCLLL 

( 

AGt 

12 

AGt 

15 

Chart  16. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

CANCEL LATiON       accuracy 


129 


TOSIBLY  A 
PROBABLY  A  OirFERENCt     OirrCRCNCC 

PROBABLY   NO 

oirrcRCNa 

POS5I8LY  A 

oirrcRCNCC    probably  a  oirrcRCNce 

ACt 

8 

AGt 

9 

GIRLS  CXCCLL 

60Y5  CACCLL 

ACC 
ACC 
AM 

10 
II 

■■^H 

AGC 

13 

1 

Chart  17. 


fNSTRUCTTUN  BOX 


F055IBLY  A  PROBABLY  NO 

PROBABUrADIFFERENCE  DirftRCNCt  DlfTtRCNO: 


P05SIBLY  A 

DinXRCNCC    PROBABUr  A  OlfTtREKCE 


GIRLS  LXCCLL 


BOYS  LXCCLL 


Chart  18. 


130 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

SuaSTlTuTiON~TiM£    P.4 


P0SSI6LY  A  PROBABLY  NO 

PRoeABtr  A  DtrrtRENCE  OirrtRCNCC  OifrcRCNCt 


POSSIBLY  A 

OirrCRCNCC    PROBABLY  A  DiFrCRENCe 


AGC 

8 

AGC 

9 

CIRL5  LXCELL 

AGC 

lO 

60Y5  CACai 

AGt 
AOC 

1 1 

i£ 

GC 

li 

Chabt  19. 


OTCTTS--^ MEMORY  SPAN 


P055IBLY  A 
PROBABLY  A  OlFFCRtNCE   Olf  FERCNCE 

PROBABLY  NO 

oirrcRtNCC 

P055IBLY  A 
OIFEERENCE 

PR08ABLYA  DIFFERENCE 

AGC 

8 

AGE 

9 

GIRLS  EXCClL 

ACE 
AGE 

10 
II 

BOYS  e:xccll 

ACE 

12 

ACE 

13 

Chart  20. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


131 


'SUBSTITUTION    TIME'P('3 


PROBABLY   A  OlfrCRENCC 

POSSlBL-t    A 

orrcRCNCE 

PROBABLY    NO 

oirrcRENCc 

POSSIBLY   A 

oifrcRENce 

PROBABLY  A  OirrCRENCE 

CIRL5  exCCLL 

ACt 

3 

9 
10 
II 

BOYS  CXCCLL 

ACE 

ACE 

ACE 

AGE 

AGE 

12 
1^ 

Chaht  21. 


SUB^TTTuTiOnT      ACCURACY'    P  4 


POSSIBLY    A 

Pftoe-sBLY  A  Oif EEflENCC     OirrCRCNCE 

PROe/^BLY   NO 

OirrcRENCC 

possiBly  no 

DirrcPCNCE 

PPCBaBlY  a  OiffEREN'CE 

AGE 

8 

GIRLS  tXCCLL 

AGE 

9 

BOYS  CACCLL 

ACE 

10 

AGE 

II 

- 

AGE 

iZ 

AGE 

13 

» 

Chart  22. 


PART  II 
SOCIAL  STUDY 


PART  II 
SOCIAL  STUDY 

A  HOME  investigation  of  the  children  in  the  testing 
groups  was  made  in  order  to  jDrovide  data  for  an  extensive 
study  of  the  homes  from  which  the  children  came;  and 
to  furnish  such  facts  about  the  indvidual  child  as  might 
at  the  time  throw  light  upon  the  results  of  his  mental  and 
physical  examinations.  The  material  obtained  was  expected 
to  furnish  information  for  the  use  of  the  testers  and  of 
the  examining  doctor  at  the  time  of  their  contact  with  the 
child,  as  well  as  to  supply  a  set  of  facts  for  study  after 
the  testing  was  completed. 

The  afterstudy  of  the  material  was  directed  along  two 
lines.  An  inquiry  was  made  into  the  relationship  existing 
between  test  performance  and  social  status ;  and  the  details 
characterizing  the  home  environments  represented  were 
summarized  to  give  a  quantitative  description  of  the  social 
and  economic  status  of  the  group.  This  summary  is  offered 
in  the  form  of  frequency  tables  with  accompanying  explana- 
tory notes,  and  it  is  hoped  will  make  it  possible  for  those 
who  use  the  norms  presented  here  to  identify  the  com- 
parability of  other  children  with  those  who  made  up  our 
testing  groups. 

The  study  of  the  relationship  of  the  mental  and  social 
data  was  handicapped  by  the  fact  that  the  choice  of  a  highly 
homogeneous  social  group  necessarily  resulted  in  a  narrow 
range  of  differences  in  home  situation.  The  exceptional  cases 
which  are  markedly  above  or  below  the  representative  value 
for  the  group  are  too  few  to  afford  generalizations  as  to  the 

135 


136  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

influence  of  superior  or  inferior  economic  status  upon  test 
performance  while  the  main  body  of  the  social  data  is  so 
slightly  differentiated  that  it  can  be  expected  to  yield 
little  in  the  way  of  positive  results  for  such  a  study  of 
relationships. 

Plan  of  Home  Investigfation 

The  record  blank  for  the  home  investigation  was  adapted 
from  the  one  used  by  the  Visiting  Teachers  of  the  Public 
Education  Association  of  New  York  City.  Its  form  admitted 
of  its  being  carried  in  a  loose-leaf  notebook  during  the 
period  of  the  investigation  and  then  being  placed  for  refer- 
ence in  a  5x8  file  with  the  name,  address,  and  school  descrip- 
tion of  the  child  in  vertical  position. 

The  Family  and  Personal  History  on  Page  1  of  the 
lecord  was  planned  as  a  supplement  to  the  doctor's  examina- 
tion of  the  child.  It  proved  to  be  difficult  to  obtain  from 
the  mother  exact  and  trustworthy  information  on  these 
topics.  The  facts  as  to  the  early  development  of  the  child 
had  never  been  noted  or  were  forgotten  after  the  birth  of 
later  children.  The  inquiry  as  to  the  diseases  of  the  parents 
and  the  previous  diseases  of  the  child  proved  unsatisfactory 
since  a  complete  lack  of  understanding  of  medical  facts  and 
terms  was  characteristic  of  the  foreign  groups.  The 
mother's  knowledge  and  memory  of  the  past  illnesses  even 
of  her  own  children  was  often  confused  and  inadequate, 
and  in  most  cases  was  entirely  lacking  for  other  members 
of  the  family.  The  facts  as  to  the  general  health  and  hahits 
of  the  child  were  easier  to  learn  in  so  far  as  the  observation 
of  the  mother  extended.  This  information  proved  useful 
to  the  examining  doctor  as  a  basis  for  recommending  to 
the  mother  better  standards  in  the  care  of  her  child. 

The  items  numbered  7,  8,  and  10  on  the  second  page  of 
the  blank  were  supplied  from  the  child's  record  card  kept 
in  the  school  files.     Since  no  classification  of  the  child  as 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


137 


FAMILY    HISTORY 


I.    CHILDREN 


Living 

(Cute) 
Still- bofn 
M„c.fri»e- 


5  6  7  8 


2      MOTHER'S    HEALTH    DURING    PREGNANCi' 

(a)  Bodily  injury  or  illnets 

(b)  AlcoholisTi 

(c)  Eitraotdmacy  mantai  emotion 


J.     DISEASES  OF  PARENTS  OR  IN  FAMILY  OF  PARENTS 
(indicate  father  by  F.,  mother  by  M.) 

(a)  Rheumatism 

(b)  Tuberculosis 

(c)  Syphilis 

(d)  Cancer 

(e)  Cardiac 


( f )  Alconoliam 

(g)  NervousriMt  or  UiMnity 
(h) 
(i) 

IL! 


PERSONAL    HISTORY 


*.     INFORMATION    REGaRL":  .iG    BIRTH    AND    INFANCY 


(•}     8orr>  at  loll  term 
•"     *•  mos. 

(b)  Condition  at  birtn 
Strong  Feeble 

(c)  Age  walked 

S.     PREVIOUS  DISEASES 

(a)  MmsIm 

(b)  Mump* 

(c)  Scarlet-levef 

(d)  Diphtheria 

(e)  Whooping-cough 


(d)     Ubor 


(e)     Breast- fed 


Talk«d 


(0    Weight  at  birth 
(Jl    No.  moj. 
Teeth  ad 


(f)  Chicben-pax 

(g)  Rheumatism 
(h)  Meningitis 
(i)  ConvulsiorM 
(i)  Pneumonia 


6      GENERAL   HEALTH    AND   HASlTft 

(a)  AppMita 

Stimulants  Oiat 

(b)  Bowel* 

(c)  Hsadarne 

(d)  N«fvowsne«a 
(•>    SUap 


(f)  Nail-eitine 

(g^  Mouth-braathirvf 

(n)  Sed-wartrng 

1 1  >  M*ttwrb«t'9* 


SnoriftJ 


138 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


SUMMARY  OF  SCHOOL  RECORD,  MENTAL 


7.  BIRTH:    Oat© 

8.  SUMMARY  OF  SCHOOL  RECORD 

(a)  Schools  attended  in  N.  Y. 

(b)  Grndes  repeated 

(d)     Date  entered  lA. 

Patl  record 

(f)  Class  wo/k 

(g)  Conduct 
(h)     Attendance 

9.  MENTAL  CONDITION:    (a)    BtigM  Sic 

(b)     Soufce  of  information 
to.     PHYSICAL  CONDITION-,      (a)     Oept.  of  Health 


Elsewhere 
(c)     Grades  skipped 


(e)     Special  classes 

Present  record 


Cull 


ENVIRONMENTAL 


13.  PARENTS:      (a)     Place  of  Birth 

(e)  Education:         F, 

(f)  Use  of  Er.glUh        F. 

(e)     Social  and  fcligious  habits: 
(h)     Attitude  towaid  child: 

14.  INFORMATION    REGARDING    MEMBERS   OF    FAMILY 


(b)     Nationality 


NAMES 


Relationship 

to 

Child 


Age 


Occupation 


15.  NEIGHBORHOOD: 

(a)  Character 

(b)  Nationality 

16.  BUILDING:     (a)     Type 

17.  CONDITION  OF  FLAT:      («)     No.  of  rooms 

(f)    Furnishing* 


(b)     Rent 


(c)     No.  inside  rooms 


TESTING   SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


139 


AND   PHYSICAL 

CONDITION 

,  CHARACTERISTICS 

< 

CB 

y 

•* 

■ 

»,    GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS  (H«bit».  A»tocl»tionj,  Occupstion.) 

? 

37 

? 

S 

3 

3 

• 

12.    STATEMENTS  OF  TEACHERS 

•o 

INFLUENCES 

M.                                             F.             M.                                   F.                         U. 

(c)   Years  in  U.  S.                              (d)   Religion 

M. 

> 

M. 

1 

Wtges 

Irrreular 

or 
Seaiontl 

Unem- 
ployed 

Homi 
Industry 

Social 
Agencies 

Relief 

R  E  M  A  R  KtS 

•      § 

5' 
? 

1 

■n 

3 

i 

3 

A 

8 

I 

£ 

X 

z 

m 

1 

< 

Xb)  Condition 

(d)  CImn                                                           (•}  Ordwiy 

t 

(«)  Bo 

ird«r» 

(h)Uod 

I«r» 

140  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

to  mental  condition  was  recorded  by  the  school,  that  item 
was  not  used. 

The  material  entered  on  the  record  under  the  general 
heading  Evironmental  Influences  was  planned  for  use  in 
defining  the  social  and  economic  status  of  the  families  of 
the  group.  In  the  majority  of  cases  it  was  possible  to  obtain 
this  information  in  definite  and  satisfactory  form.  The 
topic  Wages  was  included  in  the  record  even  though  it  was 
recognized  that  for  the  many  wage  earners  of  this  group 
employed  in  seasonal  work  and  paid  on  a  piece-work  basis, 
no  wage  earned  at  any  one  time  could  be  considered  repre- 
sentative of  the  average  weekly  income.  For  this  reason 
no  tabulation  of  wages  is  included  in  the  summary  of  the 
material. 

The  item  General  Characteristics  represents  chiefly  the 
statements  of  the  mother  or  other  members  of  the  family 
about  the  child.  Except  in  individual  cases  opportunity 
was  lacking  to  seek  other  sources  of  information  than  the 
home  and  the  school,  which  latter  source  is  represented  in 
Statements  of  Teachers.  While  this  information  could  not 
be  used  in  the  group  treatment  of  the  material,  it  was  both 
Interesting  and  helpful  in  the  consideration  of  an  individual 
child. 

The  space  for  supplementary  information  on  the  last 
page  afforded  place  for  ample  explanatory  notes  which 
helped  to  give  a  rounded  picture  of  the  home  situation  of 
the  child. 

The  material  was  gathered  by  trained  investigators  in 
the  course  of  three  visits  to  each  home.  At  the  first  visit  the 
mother's  interest  in  the  purpose  of  our  study  was  aroused, 
her  permission  for  the  stripped  physical  examination  of 
the  child  was  obtained  and  the  facts  as  to  the  health  history 
of  the  parents  and  of  the  child  were  entered  directly  upon 
the  record  as  the  mother  answered  the  questions.  At  this 
time  the  child's  age  was  also  carefully  checked  with  what- 
ever birth  records  or  information  the  family  possessed,  as 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  141 

it  was  found  that  the  date  of  birth  recorded  by  the  school 
was  frequently  subject  to  an  -^rror  of  six  months  or  a  year. 
At  the  second  and  third  visits,  made  to  announce  and  to 
report  upon  the  physical  examination  of  the  child,  the  data 
for  the  social  study  of  the  family  were  obtained.  This 
material  was  gathered  without  taking  notes  during  the  visit, 
in  order  to  avoid  arousing  suspicion  or  selfconsciousness 
in  members  of  the  family  which  would  prevent  their  free 
response  and  limit  the  amount  of  general  information  given. 

Tabulation  of  Social  Data 

The  community  from  which  the  children  of  this  study 
came  represents  as  homogeneous  social  and  economic  condi- 
tions as  can  be  found  in  New  York  City.  The  bulk  of  the 
adult  population  is  made  up  of  Jewish  immigrants  who 
came  to  this  country  to  obtain  for  their  children  the  educa- 
tional opportunities  and  the  possibilities  for  material  suc- 
cess which  they  themselves  lacked. 

The  neighborhood,  known  as  the  Lower  East  Side,  is 
one  of  the  most  congested  portions  of  the  city.  Owing  to 
its  accessibility  to  the  garment  factories  of  Manhattan,  the 
Jewish  workers  in  that  industry  have  crowded  into  it  until 
each  square  block  contains  the  living  quarters  of  from  1000 
to  4000  people.  They  are  housed  in  five  and  six  story  tene- 
ments which  have  been  built  upon  every  available  foot  of 
space. 

A  school  of  3000  or  more  children  in  this  district  draws 
its  pupils  from  an  area  of  a  few  square  blocks.  The  streets 
and  sidewalks  bounded  by  the  brick  walls  of  the  tenements 
are  the  only  play  spaces  the  children  have,  unless  they  seek 
the  one  open  square  which  exists  in  the  community  and 
in  which  opportunities  for  play  activities  are  limited  by 
the  inevitable  overcrowding. 

Families  shift  constantly  from  building  to  building  but 
rarely  move  outside  the  limits  of  the  neighborhood.    Some 


142  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

families  have  lived  for  as  many  as  ten  or  fifteen  years  in 
the  same  apartment.  The  exceptional  family  whose  grow- 
ing prosperity  or  adaptation  to  American  standards  of  liv- 
ing furnishes  the  stimulus,  leaves  this  community  for 
uptown  parts  of  New  York  such  as  the  Bronx,  where  they 
are  not  subject  to  the  foreign  usages  which  characterize 
this  section.  This  community  also  receives  families  from 
the  district  just  south  of  it,  where  the  congestion  is  even 
greater  and  where  more  marked  poverty  exists.  It  occupies 
a  position  midway  between  the  poorest  and  most  crowded 
portion  of  the  Lower  East  Side  and  the  more  Americanized 
uptown  sections  where  the  Jewish  are  found. 

The  tables  which  follow  are  offered  as  a  detailed  descrip- 
tion of  the  home  environment  of  the  groups  of  Jewish  chil- 
dren upon  which  the  norms  presented  in  this  book  are 
based. 

NATIVITY  OF  FATHER  (600)* 

Austria 155 

Austrian  Poland 118  «    58% 

Hungary 73^ 

Russia 168 1      ^ 

Russian  Poland 62  j         '^ 


Rumania 14 

Germany 6 

United  States 3 

Palestine 1 


4% 


*  The  total  group  of  families  to  which  the  tables  in  this  section  apply  numbers 
600.  Since  certain  data  were  missing  upon  individual  records  the  figures  in 
parentheses  indicate  the  actual  number  of  cases  upon  which  each  table  is  based. 

Although  all  the  parents  of  the  group  were  of  the  Jewish 
race,  the  endeavor  was  made  to  identify  separately  those 
who  came  from  parts  of  Poland  annexed  by  Austria,  Russia, 
or  Germany,  since  in  the  Polish  districts  race,  language, 
educational  opportimities,  and  economic  conditions  differ 
from  those  of  the  country  to  which  they  were  united 
politically. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  143 

The  marked  foreign  character  of  this  commimity  is 
revealed  by  the  fact  that  in  the  group  of  600  families  only 
three  were  found  in  which  the  parents  were  of  American 
birth. 

The  country  of  birth  was  the  same  for  both  parents 
except  in  fifty-eight  of  the  600  families. 

YEARS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  PARENTS  (594) 

Mean 15.1 

a 8.12 

0-  6  years 88 

7-12     " 146 

13-18     "    190 

19-24     "    78 

25-30     "    69 

31-36     "    20 

37-42     "    3 

Frequently  the  father  came  to  America  from  one  to 
three  years  in  advance  of  his  wife  and  children.  In  such 
cases  the  time  in  this  country  is  reckoned  from  the  arrival 
of  the  mother  and  children  and  the  establishment  of  the 
American  home.  The  three  cases  in  which  both  parents 
were  bom  in  the  United  States  were  excluded  in  reckoning 
the  mean. 

ENGLISH  SPOKEN  BY  THE  MOTHER  (575) 

Fair  or  good   352    61% 

None  or  poor 223    39% 

Fair  None 

Years  in  U.  S.  Good  Poor 

1-5 4  61 

6-10 25  43 

11-15 88  72 

16-20 96  27 

21-25 60  11 

26-30 44  7 

31-36 35  2 

Since  communication  in  the  home  necessarily  centers 
about  the  mother,  the  proportion  of  homes  in  which  Yiddish 


144  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

instead  of  English  was  used  can  be  judged  from  tMs  tabula- 
tion. The  group  headed  Fair  or  Good  includes  those  who 
were  able  to  use  only  simple,  conversational  English  as  well 
as  those  who  spoke  with  greater  fluency.  Those  listed  under 
the  heading  None  or  Poor,  which  contains  more  than  one- 
third  of  the  group,  were  unable  to  use  or  understand  English 
well  enough  to  carry  on  a  connected  conversation. 

The  majority  of  parents  had  received  only  the  most 
rudimentary  schooling  in  Europe.  Upon  coming  to  this 
country  few  make  the  attempt  to  learn  English  in  the  various 
night  classes  for  foreigners;  nor  do  they  acquire  the 
language  from  contact  with  English  speaking  neighbors. 
Living  in  the  midst  of  a  large  foreign  population,  the  mother 
has  little  opportunity  and  no  need  to  learn  English.  She 
purchases  all  the  family  clothing  and  household  supplies 
from  pushcarts  and  little  shops  in  her  own  neighborhood, 
and  rarely  leaves  home  on  any  other  errand.  The  father 
sometimes  gains  a  greater  familiarity  with  English  in  the 
more  varied  contacts  of  his  work,  but  often  he  too  works 
among  those  of  his  own  race  and  hears  only  the  English 
brought  from  school  by  the  children. 

FOREIGN-BORN  CHILDREN  IN  TEST  SERIES 

Showing  Age  at  Coming  to  United  States 

Number 166 

Percent  of  whole  group 28% 

Age  at  coming  to  U.  S 8.0-8.9  9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9      11.0-11.9 


0-5  years 17  10  15  17 

6-10     "    9  9  7  9 

Percent  of  each  age  group  .  .  26%  19%  22%  26% 

Age  at  coming  to  U.  S 12 . 0-12 .9     13 . 0-13 . 9  Total  Percent 

of  600 


0-5  years 17  19  95  16% 

6-10     "    23  14  71  12% 

Percent  of  each  age  group  . .  40%  33% 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  145 

This  tabulation  shows  that  of  the  group  of  166  foreign- 
born  children,  71  or  12  percent  of  all  the  children  tested 
were  of  school  age  when  they  arrived  in  this  country.  In 
the  8  and  9  year  groups  there  were  seven  who  had  lived  in 
this  country  from  eight  months  to  one  and  a  half  years 
when  they  were  tested ;  and  in  the  10, 11,  and  12  year  group, 
there  were  twelve  who  had  been  in  America  two  or  two 
and  a  half  years  at  the  date  of  testing.  All  others  listed  in 
the  table  had  been  in  the  United  States  three  years  or  more 
at  the  time  of  the  study. 

It  was  found  that  the  foreign-born  children  who  were  in 
the  regular  school  classes  and  were  accustomed  to  hearing 
instructions  in  English,  suffered  little  handicap  in  taking 
the  tests,  since  only  two,  the  Binet-Yerkes  Scales  and 
Opposites,  involved  the  use  of  language  by  the  child. 

RENT  (590) 

Mean $18.16 

a 5.229 

Rent  Families 

SO-10.99 15 

11-20.99 422 

21-30.99 141 

31-40.99 10 

41-50.99 2 


The  major  part  of  the  population  in  this  district  is 
housed  in  brick  tenements  accommodating  from  25  to  30 
families  each.  These  vary  in  type  from  the  ill-lighted  and 
poorly  ventilated  buildings,  which  antedate  the  more 
improved  methods  of  tenement  construction,  to  the  well- 
planned  modern  tenement  in  which  a  five-room  apartment 
rented,  at  the  time  of  this  investigation,  for  from  $25.00  to 
$30.00  a  month. 

The  representative  apartment  for  families  of  this  group, 
found  in  the  older  type  of  tenement  building,  rented  for 


NUMBER  OF  ROOMS  (592) 
Mean 4.0 

cr , 

1.01 

No.  Rooms 

1 

Families 
1 

2 

13 

3 

50 

4 

282 

5 

Ill 

6 

27 

7 

5 

8 

3 

146 


METHODS  AND   RESULTS  OF 


$18.00  a  month.  Such  apartments  consist  of  four  small, 
unheated  rooms,  at  least  two  of  which  receive  their  light 
and  air  from  a  narrow  dark  court  which  serves  as  a  store- 
house for  the  odors  and  bad  air  which  empty  into  it.  The 
apartment  is  equipped  with  cold  running  water,  and  there 
is  a  toilet  in  the  hall  used  in  common  by  the  four  families 
on  the  same  floor.  The  halls  and  stairways  of  the  buildings 
are  often  dark  and  ill-smelling. 

There  is  still  to  be  found  in  this  neighborhood  an  occa- 
sional private  house  remaining  from  the  time  before  the 
influx  of  Jewish  immigrants  which  resulted  in  the  erection 
of  the  five  and  six  story  tenements.  Three  families  in  which 
the  fathers  are  well-to-do  professional  men  occupied  such 
houses.  The  rent  value  for  these  was  not  learned.  They 
are  therefore  omitted  from  the  tabulation. 

The  tenement  houses  occupied  by  the  majority  of  the 
children  of  our  groups  support  the  statement  that  ^'ade- 
quate light,  air,  perfect  sanitation,  even  passable  home 
environment  cannot  be  provided  by  the  best  tenement  which 
is  commercially  possible  on  Manhattan  Island.''  * 

NUMBER  PERSONS  IN  HOME  (598)        PERSONS  PER  ROOM  (588) 

Mean 6.9        Mean 1.8 

a 1.86      <r 53 


Persons 
2... 
3... 
4... 
5... 
6... 
7... 


Families    Persons 


9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 


1 

4 

17 

53 

59 

69 

45 

31 

13 

4 

2 


1.2. 
1.6. 
2.0. 
2.4. 
2.8. 
3.2. 
3.6. 
4.0. 
4.4. 
4.8. 
5.2. 
5.6. 


Families 

1 
. .  10 
. .  119 
. .  151 
. .  186 
..  77 
. .  23 
. .  18 

1 


De  Forest  and  Veiller,  "The  Tenement  House  Problem." 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  147 

The  households  represented  in  the  tabulation  include, 
in  addition  to  the  family,  such  relatives  or  lodgers  as  lived 
permanently  in  the  home.  Almost  one  quarter  of  the  whole 
group  of  homes  contained  such  additional  members  as  a 
means  of  supplementing  the  family  income. 

The  overcrowding  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  aver- 
age is  very  nearly  two  persons  to  each  room.  This  average 
presupposes  the  use  of  the  kitchen  as  a  living  and  sleeping 
room.  When  it  is  remembered  that  each  room  is  usually 
very  small,  with  access  only  to  the  air  pocketed  in  the  narrow 
court  space,  some  idea  can  be  formed  of  the  conditions  in 
which  the  majority  of  the  children  of  this  group  lived. 

CLEANLINESS  OF  HOME  (576) 
l=ExceUent  2=  Good  3=  Fair  4=  Dirty 

Grade                                                    Families  Percent 

1 141  24 

2 257  44 

3 131  23 

4 47  8 

The  rough  grading  of  homes  according  to  the  conditions 
of  cleanliness  noted  on  the  records  was  attempted  in  order 
to  discover  whether  these  tenement  homes  showed  a  normal 
distribution  in  this  respect.  While  the  tabulation  seems 
to  speak  well  for  the  standard  of  cleanliness  maintained,  it 
should  be  noted  that,  with  no  absolute  basis  of  judgment, 
such  a  rating  is  chiefly  valuable  as  a  means  of  comparison 
within  the  group. 

OCCUPATION  OF  CHIEF  WAGE  EARNER  IN  FAMILY  (589) 

Professional     ^°^',          Own         Factory             Laborers 
„      .  mercial      _,     .  t^t    , ' >       Misc. 

^^^^^^^         Work       ^"^^^^^^        ^^^^^         Skilled      Unskilled 


13  27  154  311  51  28  5 

2.2%  4.6%  26.2%        52.8%        8.6%  4.7%  .8% 


148  METHODS  AJND  RESULTS  OF 

The  factory  workers  who  make  up  more  than  half  of 
the  whole  group  were  mainly  employed  in  the  manufacture 
of  clothing  as  machine  operators,  cutters,  or  pressers.  When 
working  full  time  they  earned  from  $9.00  to  $40.00  a  week 
according  to  the  skill  they  possessed.  Owing,  however,  to 
periods  of  idleness  which  alternated  with  the  rush  seasons 
in  their  industr}^,  the  cost  of  living  was  an  ever  present 
source  of  anxiety  even  to  many  of  the  more  highly  skilled 
workers  of  this  group. 

The  classification  *^Own  Business '^  includes  the  small 
shopkeepers  and  venders  of  food,  clothing,  and  house 
furnishings  who  ministered  to  the  needs  of  the  tenement 
population  in  their  immediate  neighborhood.  The  shop  was 
usually  part  of  the  same  tenement  building  in  which  the 
family  lived  or  was  only  a  few  doors  away  from  it.  Often 
the  family  living  rooms  were  back  of  the  shop  and  the 
mother  of  the  family  shared  with  her  husband  the  long 
hours  of  attendance  in  the  shop  which  remained  open  from 
early  morning  until  late  at  nighi  The  members  of  this 
group  earned  a  meager  living  and  were  with  few  exceptions 
no  higher  in  the  economic  scale  than  the  workers  of  the 
factory  and  laboring  groups. 

The  remaining  classifications  combined  contain  less  than 
a  fourth  of  the  whole  group.  A  small  proportion  of  these 
Jewish  wage  earners  were  found  in  the  trades  or  in  unskilled 
manual  work  outside  of  the  factory.  A  still  smaller  propor- 
tion worked  in  clerical  positions  or  as  insurance  agents  or 
salesmen. 

The  small  professional  group  made  up  of  doctors,  den- 
tists, and  Hebrew  teachers  is  the  only  classification  which 
in  itself  represents  a  superior  economic  status. 

In  spite  of  the  unfavorable  economic  condition  of  many 
of  the  families  of  this  group,  only  seventeen  reported  that 
they  were  receiving  charitable  aid.  Since  the  family,  from 
which  this  information  was  obtained,  may  not  always  have 
been  willing  to  admit  being  dependent  upon  public  funds 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


149 


for  support,  the  tabulation  is  included  of  families  in  which 
income  from  the  father  was  lacking  or  in  which  his  earnings 
were  insufficient  to  support  the  family. 


FAMILIES   NOT  SUPPORTED   BY  FATHER'S   EARNINGS 


Father  dead, 

Father's  earn- 

deserted, or 
disabled 

ings  inadequate 

for  support  of 

family 

Total 

Percent 

Relief  received  from  charitable 

agencies 

4 

13 

17 

2.8 

Family  supported  chiefly  by  mother 

10 

8 

18 

3.0 

Family  supported  chiefly  by  chil- 

dren   

9 

37 

46 

7.7 

No  one  working  at  time  of  investi- 

gation  

20 

20 
101 

3.3 

Total 

23 

78 

16.8 

The  economic  independence  of  some  families  of  the 
group  was  gained,  as  shown  by  the  table,  through  the 
assumption  of  the  financial  responsibility  by  the  mother  or 
older  children.  In  this  community  it  is  usual  for  a  boy 
or  girl  of  sixteen  to  be  at  work.  In  the  homes  where  the 
father  is  able  to  support  his  wife  and  the  younger  children, 
the  children  who  work  pay  into  the  home  merely  the  cost 
of  their  maintenance  and  make  such  voluntary  contribu- 
tions to  its  comfort  as  they  wish,  but  in  the  homes  where 
the  father  is  unable  to  earn  the  living  necessities,  the  burden 
falls  upon  the  older  children.  The  mother,  handicapped  by 
her  unfamiliarity  with  American  ways  and  bound  by  the 
traditions  of  her  religion,  replaces  her  husband  as  wage 
earner  only  when  the  children  are  not  yet  grown. 

The  Jewish  motlier  does,  however,  supplement  the  family 
income  in  various  ways  which  do  not  necessitate  her  ventur- 
ing far  from  home.  There  were  41  cases,  other  than  those 
listed  in  the  table,  in  which  the  mother  acted  as  janitress 
of  the  building  in  exchange  for  a  rent-free  apartment,  or 


150  TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

did  cooking,  dressmaking,  or  laundry  work  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. Very  little  factory  "home  work"  was  done  by  the 
mothers  of  this  group,  only  four  definite  instances  being 
noted  upon  the  records. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  said  of  the  families  to  which 
the  foregoing  tables  apply  that  there  were  few  who  endured 
actual  physical  suffering  because  of  poverty,  but  that  the 
majority  felt  the  need  of  careful  planning  and  maximum 
effort  on  the  part  of  each  grown  member  of  the  family  to 
make  their  resources  cover  the  necessities  of  life. 


PART  III 
PHYSICAL  STUDY 


PAET  III 

PHYSICAL  STUDY 

In"  order  to  obtain  the  complete  picture  of  each  child 
which  we  wished  to  have,  we  included  as  part  of  the  inves- 
tigation a  thorough  phj^sical  examination  of  all  the  children 
tested.  We  hoped  thus  to  obtain  a  series  of  norms  of 
physical  status  and  to  gather  data  of  value  for  showing  the 
relationship  of  physical  condition  to  school  standing  and 
to  test  performance.  The  definite  values  which  resulted 
from  the  physical  study  are  presented  here.  The  study  of 
relationships  will  be  discussed  in  another  publication. 

Plan  of  Physical  Examination 

The  record  for  the  physical  examination  was  drawn  up 
after  a  careful  inspection  had  been  made  of  the  records 
used  in  other  studies.  In  the  final  preparation  of  the  blank 
for  printing,  various  medical  men  were  consulted  whose 
knowledge  and  experience  in  connection  with  children  made 
their  suggestions  especially  valuable.  The  card  evolved  was 
rich  in  opportunity  to  record  detail  and  would,  we  believed, 
afford  a  basis  for  obtaining  a  complete  description  of  the 
physical  condition  and  characteristics  of  each  child 
examined. 

The  necessity  of  restricting  the  scope  of  the  examination 
in  certain  particulars  seemed  unavoidable;  Owing  to  the 
limited  space  available  in  the  schools  and  noises  outside 
the    examining   room,    no    trustworthy   results    could   be 

153 


154  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

obtained  for  acuity  of  hearing  without  an  undue  expen- 
diture of  time  in  repeating  the  tests  for  each  child.*  The 
examination  of  vision  was  equally  handicapped  by  lack  of 
space  and  equipment.  No  examination  of  these  senses  was 
therefore  attempted.!  A  superficial  examination  of  the 
neuro-muscular  system  was  all  that  was  possible  without  the 
services  of  a  specialist  and  elaborate  apparatus.  Digital 
examination  of  adenoids  seemed  inadvisable  and  adenoids 
were  therefore  reported  by  the  examiner  only  when  visible. 

A  record  for  blood  pressure  was  included  as  part  of  the 
examination  in  order  that  the  observations  upon  a  normal 
group  of  children  might  contribute  to  the  body  of  results 
obtained  by  others.  The  systolic  blood  pressure  and  the 
pulse  rate  for  the  child  in  horizontal  and  vertical  position 
were  recorded.  These  values  were  combined  into  the  index 
suggested  and  used  by  Dr.  Crampton  as  a  measure  of  the 
splanchic  vaso-tone  and  hence  ''an  important  indication  of 
the  efficiency  of  the  body  and  related  closely  to  vitality. ' '  * 

The  grading  of  the  children  according  to  Nutrition  was 
undertaken  at  the  request  of  the  Bureau  of  Welfare  of 
School  Children  of  the  New  York  Association  for  Improv- 
ing the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  to  conform  to  a  study  of 
defective  nutrition  made  by  them  in  cooperation  with  the 
Bureau  of  Child  Hygiene  of  the  Department  of  Health,  for 
children  in  public  and  parochial  schools  in  New  York  City. 

*  W.  T.  Porter,  in  his  report  upon  the  measurement  of  St.  Louis  children  in 
1892  says:  "Tests  of  acuteness  of  hearing  were  found  impractical  because  of 
the  unavoidable  noise  in  the  schools  and  were  given  up  after  about  7000  children 
had  been  tested." 

t  Although  the  lack  of  quantitative  data  on  vision  and  hearing  for  the  whole 
group  of  children  is  regretted,  we  felt  that  the  accumulation  of  such  material 
by  the  use  of  admittedly  crude  measures  would  yield  results  of  little  value.  An 
adequate  identification  of  handicaps  in  vision  and  hearing  which  would  necessitate 
the  exclusion  from  the  series  of  certain  test  performances,  was  assured  by  the 
careful  observation  of  individual  children  by  the  testers,  over  a  somewhat  extended 
period. 

t  Crampton,  C.  Ward:  The  Blood  Ptosis  Test  and  Its  Use  in  Experimental 
Work  in  Hygiene,  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Experimental  Biology  and 
Medicine,  1915,  Vol.  XII,  pp.  119-122. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  155 

The  classification  of  nutrition  which  they  recommended  was 
that  used  by  Dr.  MacKenzie  of  Dunfermline,  Scotland.* 

The  examination  of  teeth  included  at  first  only  the  record 
of  the  number  of  permanent  teeth,  in  addition  to  the  noting 
of  such  defects  as  infected  gums,  decaj^ed  and  irregular 
teeth.  After  the  physical  examinations  had  been  comj^leted 
for  the  eight  year  group,  however,  we  decided  to  differen- 
tiate the  permanent  teeth  by  noting  the  number  of  canines, 
bicuspids  and  molars.  We  hoped  to  obtain  data  comparable 
with  those  found  in  studies  of  the  dentition  of  children 
wliich  suggest  a  relation  between  eruption  of  teeth  and 
advancement  of  physiological  development.! 

The  physical  measurements  listed  were  those  which 
seemed  most  valuable  as  a  supplement  to  the  physical  and 
mental  examinations  and  which  might  contribute  a  set  of 
norms  to  the  values  already  obtained  by  other  investigators. 
At  the  outset  our  plan  was  to  include  all  simple  measure- 
ments of  the  body  that  could  be  made  without  great  expen- 
diture of  time  or  the  use  of  elaborate  apparatus.  It  proved 
so  difficult,  however,  to  obtain  satisfactory  measurements 
of  sitting-height,  span  of  arms,  length  of  leg,  and  girth  of 
abdomen  within  the  limited  space  and  time  at  our  disposal 
in  making  the  examinations  that  these  measurements  were 
discontinued  after  the  examination  of  the  eight  year  chil- 
dren. The  fact  that  no  immediate  use  was  being  made  of 
the  data  to  supplement  the  medical  examinations  and  that 
norms  obtained  on  groups  as  small  as  ours  could  add  little 
to  those  resulting  from  the  many  thousands  of  cases  upon 
which  anthropometrical  studies  are  based,  contributed  to 
this  decision. 

*  Manny,  Frank  G.:  A  Scale  for  Grading  Nutrition,  School  and  Society 
January  22,  1916.  McKenzie,  Alister,  M.  D.:  Seventh  Annual  Report  Medical 
Inspection,  Dunfermline,  Scotland,  1912-13,  pp.  19  and  20. 

t  Beik,  Arthur  K. :  Physiological  Age  and  School  Entrance,  Pedagogical 
Seminary,  Vol.  XX,  No.  3,  September,  1913.  Crampton,  C.  Ward:  Physiological 
Age,  A  Fundamental  Principle,  American  Physical  Education  Review,  Vol.  XIII, 
Nos.  3-6,  1918. 


156  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

The  circumference  and  diameters  of  the  chest  were  taken 
as  a  measure  of  vital  capacity.  The  head  measurements 
were  started  in  the  hope  of  studying  correlations  between 
skull  size  and  mental  ability.*  They  were  abandoned  when 
it  became  evident  that  the  chances  of  the  material  being 
germane  to  the  investigation  did  not  justify  the  extra  effort 
involved  in  taking  the  measurements  and  making  the  com- 
putations. Height  and  weight  were  the  only  measurements 
made  for  the  twelve  and  thirteen  year  groups. 

The  examinations  were  made  by  two  physicians  who 
were  retained  as  members  of  the  sta:ff  for  the  physical  study 
of  the  children.  With  the  exception  of  the  eight,  nine,  and 
thirteen  year  groups,  the  plan  of  having  the  man  examine 
the  boys  and  the  woman  the  girls  was  followed.  The  examin- 
ing doctor  had  the  assistance  of  two  members  of  the  staff 
in  conducting  the  examination,  making  the  record  upon  the 
blank  and  taking  the  height,  weight  and  measurements  of 
the  head  and  chest. 

The  children  were  examined  in  the  school  building  dur- 
ing school  hours  and  within  the  period  of  testing,  whenever 
possible.  The  usual  time  given  to  each  child  was  from 
twenty  to  thirty  minutes,  but,  as  there  was  no  fixed  limit, 
individual  examinations  sometimes  extended  over  a  longer 
period.  Loose  robes  were  given  the  children  to  wear  during 
the  examinations. 

A  special  effort  was  made  to  minimize  self -consciousness 
on  the  part  of  the  child  and  to  prevent  the  examination  from 
becoming  an  ordeal  to  him.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  in  most 
cases  the  child  had  already  become  pleasantly  acquainted 
with  individual  members  of  the  staff  and  that  the  examining 
room  was  not  strange  to  him,  it  was  felt  that  the  physical 
examinations  were  made  under  unusually  favorable  condi- 
tions and  that  the  children  were  left  with  no  impression  that 

♦Whipple,  G.  M.:  Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests,  Part  I,   Chap.  4, 
pp.  82-90. 


TESTING   SCHOOL  CHILDREN  157 

would  cause  them  to  shrink  from  similar  examinations  in 
the  future. 

In  only  two  cases  was  permission  for  the  physical  exam- 
ination of  the  child  refused  by  the  parents  when  its  purpose 
had  been  made  clear  to  them.  The  mother  was  urged  to 
attend  the  examination  and  did  so  in  most  instances.  If 
not  present  she  was  visited  and  given  a  verbal  report  on 
the  condition  of  the  child  and  directions  for  carrying  out 
the  recommendations  of  the  physician. 

The  following  list  of  articles  covers  the  simple  equipment 
used  in  the  examination : 

Tykos  Instrmnent  for  Blood  Pressure 

Table  with  pad  upon  which  the  child  could  lie  at  length 

Fairbanks  Scales 

Stadiometer 

Steel  calipers 

Steel  tape 

Wooden  tongue  depressors 

Instrument  for  examination  of  ear  and  nose 

Garments  for  children 

Comment  Upon  Physical  Data 

From  the  study  of  the  recorded  physical  examinations 
the  attempt  was  made  to  identify  for  each  child  the  existence 
of  such  physical  defects  as  might  prevent  the  free  per- 
formance of  mental  work  or  interfere  with  the  normal  func- 
tioning of  his  physical  powers.  In  making  the  study  of  the 
material  for  this  purpose  difficulties  were  at  once  met  in 
interpreting  the  observations.  Neither  in  the  topics  printed 
upon  the  record  blank  nor  in  the  explanatory  remarks  dic- 
tated by  the  examining  doctor  was  there  any  clear  identifica- 
tion of  the  defects  that  might  at  the  time  of  the  examination 
constitute  a  handicap  to  the  child.  Nor  was  it  possible  to 
judge  significant  and  comparable  degrees  of  the  same  defect 
for  all  the  children  examined,  since  the  findings  of  the 


158 


METHODS  AND   RESULTS   OF 


Mo.  of 

ITEM 

PH  YSICAL 

EXAMINATION 

X 

1.     HEAD: 

'(•)     Shape 

(b)     Ajymmotria* 

i.     HAIR:         (a)  Coarse  <b)   Fin*  ^e)  Bflttle  (J)   Low  on  (orehsAd        (e)  PodicvlMt* 

i  f)  Oistiibution 

3.  SCALP^    U)  RInjwotm  Kb)  Ecz«>n» 

4.  FACEi      t«>  FQfehwdi  (b)  Chin 

(c)  'Asyfnnietii«t 
(d>  Expression 

5.  GLANOSl    <aj   Enlarged  glandi  (fe)  Sc^r* 

(o)  Thyroid  palpable  Cfl  Thyrtnis 

6.  CHEST:     (a)  Ajymmetries 

(b)  Rachitic  t9i  flit, 

7.  LUNOS:     {a)  Adventitiout  tounds 

<b)  Enlarged  bron.  lymph  glaAdt 

8.  HEART:     (»)   Murmurt 

(b)  Pulse  rate  H.  V,  Blood  pr«iur«  H< 

Inden 


9.     BACK  :        (t)   Scapulae  winged 
(b)   Spine:    tcoliotia 
lordoiit 

to.     ABDOMEN:     (a)   Ptosii 

(c)   Enlarged  ipleen 
(e)   Oittention 

II.     UPPER  LIMBS:     (a)   Asymmetries 

(b)  Shape  of  hands 

(c)  Clubbed  finger* 

12.  LOWER  WlVeS:    (a)  Flat-foot 

(c)   Bow-leg 

(e)  Bowing  o<tibli« 

13.  SKIN,     (a)  Pallid  (b)  Ruddy 

(d)  Dry  (e)  BirthmVfc 

(f)  Scars 

(g)  Eruptions 


hyphMb 


(^)  Enlaigsd  llvw 
(A  Herni* 


(d)  Naildafectt 

(b)  V/eak-ffot 
(d)   Knock- knoe 
(f)  Asyinmetrie* 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


159 


(b)  Tfsmqn 

(i)  Hiblt-ipwm  <4)  Chona 

(f)  ReftMM 

it)  P«r«lyi«»  (h)  Stttlon 

(t)  Htadbtfine*  (|)  Hand  btlvis* 

(V)  0»U  (I)  Spooch  defoet 

ORAL    AND    DENTAL 
1$.    MOUTH  I     M  Gumi 


(•)  Tie. 


(b)  Tongu«i  thick 

pointed 

furmwti 

f                     tut* 

(o)  P«lste:  el»n 

v-ihaped 

•rohad 

narrow 

(d1  Upi:   htlrllp 

thick 

tvcrttd 

fliaurot) 

M. 

TeeTM! 

(i)  Numbtr 
(d)  Irregultf 
^g^  Hutchlnion't 
(1)   P«r.  Cinlntt 

(b)  Nunab«'  d»etyed 
(e)  Notched 
(h)  Mtlocclui'on 
Per.  Bicuspid* 

re)   Stalnad 
(0  $«rrattd 

Par.  Molart 

(J)  tfmio« 

t 
e 

7    8    5    4    12! 
7    6    5    4     3    ?     1 

1 
1 

i     1    4    S    6    7    8 
J     J    «    $    «    7    e 

EVE,  EAR,   NOSE  AND  THROAT 
IT.    lYESt    (t)  SiJ»  (b)  Petition 

(«)  Con]i/n«<lvi*  (d)  Lid* 

(•)  Striblimu*  (f)  Nyitagmu* 

(f)  e«ophth«lni«t  0*^  Villon 

(1)  PupUt 


19.    EARS:    (t)  Sfi* 

(e)  Uutu* 
(•)  OtorrtiM 


10.    NOSE:    (•)' Turtlnttaa  «nl4r(«d  M 


(b)  Poiltloft 

(d)  Drum 

(f)  ln)pactod  earumen  (g)  ktyrrmgUtU 

(b)  Oaviatad  Saptum 


(c)  Atymmatrlai 


M.    THROAT:     (»)  Tomila  tnlirjad 

diiaatad 

Tonilli  tubmargad 

ramovad 

(b)  AdanoWi 

f*movad 

tl.    NUTRITION:                                        1. 

9. 

X 

*. 

(Ovmht^nt) 

160  METHODS  AND   RESULTS   OF 

physician  were  recorded  in  the  form  of  unstandardized  com- 
ments upon  the  condition  they  wished  to  note  with  no  con- 
clusive statement  as  to  the  degree  and  importance  of  the 
a]3normal  condition  described.* 

Such  difficulties  in  interpretation  occurred  chiefly  in  sum- 
marizing the  material  recorded  for  glands,  chest,  lungs, 
back,  abdomen,  and  neuro-muscular  system. 

Further  study  of  the  record  blank  revealed  the  fact  that 
there  were  many  topics  upon  it  of  which  no  use  could  be 
made  in  summarizing  the  material.  Among  them  were  those 
calling  for  descriptive  characterizations  of  the  shape  of  the 
head,  face,  hands,  and  the  size  and  position  of  ears  or  eyes. 
This  material  was  inconclusive  and  meaningless  for  the  pur- 
pose of  our  study  and  could  have  been  included  in  the 
Supplementary  Information  for  the  exceptional  cases  in 
which  such  observations  occurred.  The  peculiarities  of 
physical  structure  are  of  interest  in  the  study  of  an  indiv- 
idual child  but  afford  an  indaequate  basis  for  quantitative 
conclusions  as  to  the  defective  equipment  of  children  in  a 
group  study.  **  Because  morbid  biological  conditions  do  in 
some  cases  determine  the  anomalous  character  of  a  human 
structure,  there  is  no  justification  for  assuming  that  every 
appearance  of  the  character  in  any  individual  always 
betokens  a  similar  morbid  origin  and  is  itself  anomalous. 
That  defective  development  may  determine  the  execessive 
height  of  some  palates  is  no  justification  for  supposing  that 
all  high  palates  are  developmental  defects."! 

*  Similar  difficulties  in  making  use  of  the  data  resulting  from  medical  examina- 
tions are  pointed  out  by  Dr.  David  Heron  in  "The  Influence  of  Defective  Phj^sique 
and  Unfavorable  Home  Environment  on  the  Intelligence  of  Children,"  Galton 
Laboratory  Memoirs  VIII  (1910).  He  describes  the  object  of  the  memoir  as 
twofold : 

"(a)  To  illustrate  the  difficulties  that  arise  in  attempting  to  make  reliable 

and  comparable  observations  on  school  children. 
"(b)  To  indicate  the  difficulties  met  with  in  the  statistical  treatment  of 
such  observations  if  they  are  not  made  with  due  regard  to  the 
needs  of  the  statistician." 
t  Goring,  Charles:  The  English  Convict,  p.  23. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  161 

There  were  still  other  topics  upon  the  card  of  which 
no  use  could  be  made  in  summing  up  the  material  because 
they  were  merely  suggestive  of  some  physical  ill  of  which 
the  diagnosis  was  lost  imless  it  appeared  in  another  part 
of  the  record.  Material  which  is  thus  inadequate  and,  by 
itself  meaningless  for  analysis  by  the  layman  is  found  under 
the  general  headings  Hair,  Skin,  Mouth,  and  in  such  sub- 
topics as  Hutchinson's  Teeth. 

The  unrelated  and  unsummarized  noting  of  such  items 
veils  their  diagnostic  significance  and  seems  to  furnish  a 
valueless  record  for  preservation  in  studies  where  the  child 
is  not  a  subject  of  continued  observation  by  the  physician. 
It  is  even  possible  that  the  consideration  of  such  topics  in 
the  progressive,  routine  examination  of  the  body  rather 
than  in  connection  with  the  conditions  of  which  they  are 
symptomatic,  may  divert  the  examiner's  attention  from  the 
discovery  of  the  significant  factors  of  physical  condition. 
The  detailed,  descriptive  form  of  record  is  of  greater  value 
in  a  clinical  examination  where  the  physician  finds  numer- 
ous details  useful  in  his  diagnosis  and  study  of  a  definitely 
pathological  condition  and  where  such  recorded  details  are 
mainly  supplementary  to  his  own  constant  observation  of 
the  patient.  It  proved  unsuited  to  an  investigation  of  a 
group  of  normal  children  such  as  ours  where  the  results 
must  be  subjected  to  afterstudy  by  others  than  the  examin- 
ing physicians  and  must  serve  other  uses  than  the  medical 
treatment  of  an  individual. 

For  the  purpose  either  of  medical  inspection  or  of  inves- 
tigations for  quantitative  use,  the  physical  examination 
must  be  relied  upon  for  diagnosis  of  definite  insufficiencies 
or  defects.  Where  the  physician  is  reluctant  to  make  a 
definite  diagnosis,  the  linking  up  of  the  symptomatic  condi- 
tions with  the  general  defect  to  which  they  trace  may,  at 
least,  be  asked  of  him.  The  suggestion  grows  out  of  our 
experience  that  the  general  material  included  upon  such 
records  should  be  definitely  subordinated  to  the  discovery 


162  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 

of  the  significant  facts  of  physical  condition  and  that  the 
results  obtained  should  not  be  obscured  by  the  recording 
of  uninterpreted  facts  or  by  the  amassing  of  descriptive 
material  of  doubtful  use. 

The  great  need  of  the  development  of  a  standardized 
procedure  and  terminology  for  the  use  of  medical  examiners 
in  making  such  mass  studies  of  normal  children  was  very 
apparent  from  the  analysis  of  our  material.  The  problem 
of  determining  the  abnormalities  and  the  degree  of  each 
abnormality  which  constitutes  a  real  handicap  to  the  child 
is  one  which,  if  it  is  capable  of  solution,  must  be  met  by  the 
medical  profession.  The  layman  can  readily  judge  the 
significance  of  seriously  defective  vision  or  hearing  in  the 
school  progress  of  a  child  but  must  depend  upon  an  expert's 
examination  to  determine  at  what  point  the  defect  ceases 
to  be  serious  enough  to  influence  his  immediate  response  to 
a  demand  upon  these  senses.  Nor  can  the  layman  know 
what  physical  characters  must  be  examined  to  discover  sig- 
nificant defects.  There  must  be  a  common  decision  upon 
these  questions  adopted  and  used  by  medical  examiners  for 
all  such  studies  before  there  can  be  any  reliable  comparison 
made  between  the  findings  of  different  examiners  and  before 
any  satisfactory  judgment  can  be  reached  as  to  the  relation- 
ship between  physical  condition  and  mental  ability. 

Many  of  the  generalizations  in  tliis  field  which  have 
been  made  up  to  the  present  time  are  subject  to  question 
because  the  unstandardized  observations  upon  which  they 
are  based  do  not  justify  statistical  treatment  or  warrant 
conclusions  in  quantitative  terms.  The  whole  question  of 
the  influence  of  physical  condition  and  development  upon 
mental  ability  is  so  dependent  upon  the  accumulation  of 
trustworthy  and  comparable  data,  that  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
the  problem  of  accomplishing  the  necessary  standardization 
of  medical  observations  will  be  recognized  and  handled  in 
the  future. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


163 


NORMS  FOR  PHYSICAL  MEASURES 


Table  47 —WEIGHT 


(Kilograms) 

Boys 

Age.... 

.      9.0-9.9 

10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

12.0-12.9 

13.0-13.9 

Mean . . 

.     26.30±.41 

27.88d=.3o      30.82±.48 

34. 34  zh. 48 

38.03±.57 

S.  D... 

.       4.30±.29 

3.68±.25        4.97±.34 
Girls 

4.57±.34 

6.04±.40 

Age. . . . 

.      9.0-9.9 

10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

12.0-12.9 

13.0-13.9 

Mean . . 

.  25.09±.25 

28.06±.43      31.70±.50 

36. 98  dz. 84 

41.47±.64 

S.  D... 

.     2.62±.18 

4.50±.31        5.16±.35 

8.53±.59 

6.70±.46 

Weight  was  recorded  in  pounds  to  the  nearest  quarter  and  changed  into  the 
metric  system  for  statistical  use.  The  weight  of  the  loose  robe  which  replaced 
the  child's  clothing  was  deducted  to  obtain  the  corrected  reading  which  was 
recorded. 


Table  48.— HEIGHT 

(Centimeters) 

Boys 
10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 


Age 9.0-9.9 


12.0-12.9        13. 0-13. 9 


Mean...   127.41±.65     130.31zt:.66     136.29±.78    140.86±.72     146.64±.73 
S.  D....       6.80±.46        6.92±.46        8.08±.55        6.82zt.50        7.70±.52 


Girls 

Age. . . . 

.      9.0-9.9          10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

12.0-12.9 

13.0-13.9 

Mean . . 

.  125.28±.70    130.97±.63    135.64±.79 

143.96db.92 

148.81±.82 

S.  D... 

.      7.33±.50        6.53±.44        8.20±.56 

9.60±.65 

8.56±.58 

Height  was  measured  in  feet  and  inches  to  the  nearest  quarter  and  changed 
into  the  metric  system.  The  cliild  stood  with  heels  together  and  touching  the 
rod  at  the  base,  and  with  back  flattened  against  the  measuring  rod.  He  was 
asked  to  "stand  tall."  Care  was  taken  to  see  that  he  did  not  stretch  unduly  nor 
throw  his  chest  out,  thus  curving  his  back  and  shortening  his  stature. 


164 


METHODS  AND   RESULTS  OF 


Table  49.— WEIGHT-HEIGHT  INDEX 
Boys 


Age 

.      9.0-9.9 

10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

12.0-12.9 

13.0-13.9 

Mean. . , 

.     20.56±.20 

21.34±.24      22.47±.20 

24.31db.34 

25.84±.31 

S.  D... 

.       2.08±.14 

2.53±.17        2.06±.14 
Girls 

3.21±.24 

3.26±.22 

Age 

9.0-9.9 

10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

12.0-12.9 

13.0-13.9 

Mean. . . 

,     20.02±.18 

21.39±.31      23.30±.35 

25.73±.50 

27.81±.37 

S.  D..., 

,       1.92±.13 

3.21db.22        3.60±.25 

5.08±.36 

3.88±.26 

Baldwin,  Bird,  T.:  Physical  Growth  and  School  Progress,  page  60: 
"One  of  the  most  useful  and  practical  indices  of  growth  is  the  weight-height 
coefl5cient  which  expresses  the  comparative  solidity  or  robustness  of  an  individual 
and,  therefore,  other  things  being  equal,  his  general  nutrition.  .  .  .  The  weight- 
height  index  is  obtained  by  dividing  the  weight  (in  kilograms)  by  the  height  (in 
centimeters) ;  this  gives  the  fraction  of  a  kilogram  which  the  individual  possesses 
n  weight  for  each  centimeter  of  height." 


Table  50.— HEAD  MEASUREMENTS 

Girth  of  Head 

(Centimeters) 

Boys 

Age 8.0-8.9  9.0-9.9         10.0-10.9       11.0-11.9 

Mean 52.09±.12         52.33±.ll      52.25±.10      52.90±.ll 

S.  D 1.24±.08  1.17±.08        1.08±.07        1.19±.08 

Girls 

Age 8.0-8.9  9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

Mean 50.54±.12      51.53±.08      51.51±.13      51.68±.15 

S.  D 1.27±.08  .85±.06        1.34±.09        1.35±.10 

The  greatest  girth  of  the  head  was  measured  by  adjusting  the  steel  tape  over 
the  frontal  and  occipital  prominences,  taking  care  to  avoid  the  bunching  of  the 
hair  under  the  tape. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  165 

Table  51.— LENGTH  OF  HEAD 

(Centimeters) 

Boys 
Age 8.0-8.9  9.0-9.9         10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

Mean 17.82=b.05      17.86±.06      17.90±.04      18.04zfz.03 

S.  D 57±.04  .60±.04  .42±.03  .36±.02 

Girls 
Age 8.0-8.9  9.0-9.9         10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

Mean 17.10±.05      17.21=h.05      17.38±.06      17.53±.06 

S.D 50±.03  .52±.04  .60±.04  .58zh.04 

"Table  52.— WIDTH  OF  HEAD 

(jCentimeters) 

Boys 
Age 8.0-8.9  9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

Mean 14.95±.02      15.15±.04      14.98±.05      15.23±.06 

S.D 24±.02  .45±.03  .50±.03  .58±.04 

Girls 
Age 8.0-8.9  9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

Mean 14.55±.04      14.72±.07      14.68±.05      14.84±.06 

S.D 44±.03  .72±.05  .50±.03  .52±.04 

The  greatest  length  and  width  of  the  head  were  measured  with  steel  calipers 
according  to  instructions  given  in  Whipple's  Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical 
Tests,  Part  I,  Chapter  4,  pages  78-81. 

Table  53.— CHEST  MEASUREMENTS 

Girth  of  Chest 

(Centimeters'' 

Boys 
Age 8.0-8.9  9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

Mean 67.86±.28      60.73±.36      61.13±.53      63.47±.3o 

S.D 2.98±.20        3.82d=.26        5.61±.38        3.66±.25 

GiKLa 
Age 8.0-8.9  9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

Mean 54.61±.25      57.99±.25        60.08±.41      G3.26±.51 

S.D 2.62±.18        2.57±.17  4.27±.29        4.72d=.36 

The  measurement  of  girth  of  chest  was  obtained  by  adjusting  the  steel  tape 
at  the  level  of  the  nipples  with  sufficient  tension  to  adapt  it  to  the  body  surface 


166 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


but  care  was  taken  that  it  should  not  be  too  tight  to  allow  the  fluctuations  caused 
by  breathing  to  be  noted.  The  reading  was  taken  at  the  mid-point  in  the  disten- 
tion of  the  lungs  by  breathing.  Two  independent  readings  were  made  and 
checked  by  a  third  when  it  proved  necessary.  The  corrected  reading  alone  was 
recorded. 

Table  54.— DEPTH  OF  CHEST 

(Centimeters) 

Boys 

Age 8.0-8.9  9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

Mean 14.56±.08      14.64±.09      15.00±.09      15.31±.12 

S.  D 85±.06        1.00±.07  .96±.06        1.21db.08 

Girls 

Age 8.0-8.9           9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9  11.0-11.9 

Mean 13.7l±.08      14.22±.ll  14.68±.ll  15.30±.14 

S.D 89±.06        1.15±.08  1.17±.08  1.31±.10 


Table  55.— BREADTH  OF  CHEST 

(Centimeters) 

Boys 

Age 8.0-8.9  9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

Mean 19.16±.ll        19.40±.ll       19.98±.ll      20.86db.l6 

S.D 1.11±.07  1.14±.08        1.20±.08        1.65±.ll 

Girls 

Age 8.0-8.9  9.0-9.9  10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9 

Mean 17.86±.13      18.51±.10      19.34±.13      20.31±.15 

S.D 1.35±.09        1.03±.07        1.33±.09        1.41±.ll 

In  measuring  depth  and  breadth  of  chest,  the  calipers  were  placed  at  the  level 
of  the  nipples  and  at  right  angles  to  the  axis  of  the  spine.  The  prongs  were 
adjusted  to  the  body  with  a  firm  but  light  pressure  and  the  measure  taken  after 
a  normal  respiration.  Two  or  three  readings  were  made  as  for  chest  girth  and 
the  corrected  reading  recorded. 

Table  56.— NUMBER  OF  PERMANENT  TEETH 

Boys 

Age 9.0-9.9      10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean...     12.00±.ll      15.56±.36      19.12±.39  24.61±.22  25.58±.18 

S.  D....       1.08±.08        3.81±.26        4.05±.34        2.25±.16  1.94±.13 

Girls 

Age 9.0-9.9        10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean...     12.81±.28      20.11±.38      22.83±.30  24.94±.27  26.71±.12 
S.D....       2.87±.20        3.73±.26        3.07±.21        2.86±.19        1.30zt.09 

The  number  recorded  did  not  include  the  permanent  teeth  which  had  been 
pulled  before  the  date  of  the  examination. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  167 


Table  57.— NUIVIBER  OF  CANINES 


Boys 

Age 

9.0-9.9 

10.0-10.9 

11.0-11.9 

12.0-12.9 

13.0-13.9 

Mean. . . 

.50±.12 

1.50±.12 

2.12±.13 

3.35±.09 

3.72d=.06 

S.  D.... 

.96±.08 

1.24±.08 
( 

1.37±.09 

SiRLS 

.82±.06 

.60db.O4 

Age 

9.0-9.9 

10.0-10.9 

11.0-11.9 

12.0-12.9 

13.0-13.9 

Mean . . . 

.70±.04 

3.19±.16 

3.39db.08 

3.81±.05 

3.96±.03 

S.D.... 

.46±.03 

1.54±.ll 

.84±.06 

.55±.04 

.33±.02 

Table  58.— NUMBER  OF  BICUSPIDS 

Boys 

Age 10.0-10.9          11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean 3.03±.22          4.04±.21  7.33zh.l0  7.38±.10 

S.  D 1.93±.15          2.20±.15  1.05±.07  1.01±.07 

Girls 

Age 10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean 4.88ifc.21        5.94±.18  7.10±.08  7.55±.09 

S.  D 2.02±.15        1.89±.13  .81±.05  .89±.06 

Table  59.— NUMBER  OF  MOLARS 

Boys 

Age 9.0-9.9           10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean...     3.65±.10          4.32±.07        5.04dz.l7  6.20±.13  6.62±.14 

S.  D 99±.07            .79±.05        1.80d=.12  1.39d=.09  1.44±.10 

Girls 

Age 9.0-9.9           10.0-10.9        11.0-11.9  12.0-12.9  13.0-13.9 

Mean...       3.96±.04        4.90±.12        5.67±.14  6.51±.15  7.16±.09 

S.  D 39±.03        1.23d=.08        1.47±.10  1.54±.ll  .98^.07 


168 


METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


Table  60 —HORIZONTAL  SYSTOLIC  BLOOD  PRESSURE  * 

9.0-9.9       10.0-10.9    11.0-11.9    12.0-12.9    13.0-13.9 

Boys  Girls   Boys  Girls  Boys  Girls   Boys  Girls   Boys  Girls 

70-72-74 1 1     . . 

76-78-80 2     ..  2 

82-84-86 2      2           3     ..  3     ..            6     ..            7     .. 

88-90-92 10      6           7      1  8      1           9      1           5     .. 

94-96-98 5     18            9      2  6      4          12      4            5      1 

100-102-104 21     10          15    19  13      9           7      7          10      4 

106-108-110 57           6    13  89           8    11           95 

112-114-116 5   5     3   7  2  14     5  11     7  12 

118-120-122 21           14  46           36           3    14 

124-126-128 12  ..3          ..7            25 

130-132-134 1          ..1  ..1          ..3           13 

136-138-140 3 

142 2 

Judson,  G.  F.,  and  Nicholson,  P.:    "Blood  Pressure  in  Normal  Children," 
American  Journal  Diseases  of  Children,  October,  1914. 

Table  61.— HORIZONTAL  DIASTOLIC  BLOOD  PRESSURE 


Age 


30-32-34. 
36-38-40. 

42-44-46. 

48-50-52. 

54-56-58. 

60-62-64. 

66-68-70. 

72-74-76. 

78-80-82. 

84-86-88. 

90-92-94. 

96-98-100. 

102-104-106. 

108-110-112. 


10. 0-10. 9        11.0-11.9        12.0-12.9        13.0-13.9 


Girls 
1 


1 

7 

12 

18 

7 

3 


Girls 


4 
15 
22 
6 
1 
1 


rirls 

Boys* 

Girls 
1 
2 

1 

. . 

1 

1 

3 

1 

1 

2 

10 

8 

20 

7 

13 

10 

3 

13 

4 

10 

5 

2 

11 

1 

1 

12 

, , 

3 

. . 

•• 

1 
2 

*  The  individual  interest  of  the  examiners  determined  the  taking  of  diastolic 
blood  pressure.  The  results  are  therefore  incomplete,  the  thirteen  year  age 
group  being  the  only  one  in  which  the  boys  are  represented. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


109 


Table  62.— GRAMPTON  INDEX  FOR  BLOOD  PRESSURE 


Age 

9.0-9.9 

10.0-10.9 

11.0-11.9 

12.0-12.9 

13.0-13.9 

Boys   Girls 

Boys 

Girls 

Boys 

Girls 

Boys   Girls 

Boys   Girls 

0... 

1 

5... 

. . 

10... 

1 

. . 

15... 

1 

, . 

1 

20... 

1 

1 

.     . . 

..      2 

25... 

2     .. 

, , 

, . 

..       2 

30... 

1 

1 

1 

1 

, , 

35... 

3     .. 

2 

1 

1 

•     •  • 

..       1 

40... 

2 

4 

1 

. . 

1      4 

45... 

1      1 

\ 

3 

1 

1 

1 

50... 

4     .. 

1 

6 

4 

4 

1      3 

1 

55... 

3 

1 

1 

1 

2 

2      7 

2      4 

60... 

8      6 

6 

5 

3 

5 

4      3 

6      3 

65... 

4      4 

6 

7 

2 

5 

5      8 

4      6 

70... 

...       10    14 

13 

6 

7 

5 

4      8 

12      7 

75... 

3      9 

10 

6 

13 

12 

11     10 

6      5 

80... 

7      3 

4 

5 

8 

5 

13      5 

7      5 

85... 

5      3 

1 

4 

5 

3 

6      1 

7      4 

90... 

1      1 

1 

2 

1 

3      3 

2      2 

95... 

1     .. 

1 

, , 

, . 

>           •   . 

1 

100... 

1 

2      1 

105  . 

2 

68.0 

1 
±1.4 

71.4 

±1.2 

1     .. 
75.1  ±.99 

Mean. 

'66.0  ±1.4 
•     66.7  ±1.4 

73.4  ±1.1 

64.3 

±1.7 

66.7 

±1.5 

67.2  ±1.2 

64.3  ±1.9 

S.  D.. 

■  14.22±   .97 
■     14.7  ±1.0 

14.66 

±  .98 

12.29 

±  .84 

10.42±.70 

11.54±  .78 

17.7 

±1.2 

15 

4 

±1.0 

12.73±.85 

19.4  ±1.3 

To  obtain  this  index,  note  the  increase  or  decrease  in 
systolic  blood  pressure  when  the  child  changes  from 
horizontal  to  vertical  position  and  the  increase  in  heart  rate 
found  bj'  subtracting  the  horizontal  from  the  vertical  pulse 
rate.  These  values  are  then  combined  into  the  index  from 
the  following  table :  * 

*  Crampton,  C.  Ward :  The  Blood  Ptosis  Test  and  Its  Use  in  Experimental 
Work  in  Hygiene,  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Experimental  Biology  and 
Medicine,  1915,  Xil,  pp.  119-122. 


170 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


Table  63.— BLOOD  PRESSURE 


Heart 

Increase 

0 

Decrease 

Rate 

Increase 

+10 

+8 

+6 

+4 

+2 

-2 

-4 

-6 

-8 

-10 

Oto  4 

100 

95 

90 

85 

80 

75 

70 

65 

60 

55 

50 

5  to  8 

95 

90 

85 

80 

75 

70 

65 

60 

55 

50 

45 

9  to  12 

90 

85 

80 

75 

70 

65 

60 

55 

50 

45 

40 

13  to  16 

85 

80 

75 

70 

65 

60 

55 

50 

45 

40 

35 

17  to  20 

80 

75 

70 

65 

60 

55 

50 

45 

40 

35 

30 

21  to  24 

75 

70 

65 

60 

55 

50 

45 

.40 

35 

30 

25 

25  to  28 

70 

65 

60 

55 

50 

45 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

29  to  32 

65 

60 

55 

50 

45 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

33  to  36 

60 

55 

50 

45 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

37  to  40 

55 

50 

45 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

41  to  44 

50 

45 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

Note. — In  case  of  increase  in  pressure  higher  than  +10  add  5  per  cent  to  the 
+10  column  for  each  2  millimeters  in  excess  of  10. 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 

REFERENCES 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  present  a  complete  bibliography  pertinent  to 
this  investigation.  Bulletin  No.  IX  of  the  Bureau  of  Educational  Experiments 
(New  York),  "Psychological  Tests  Revised  and  Classified  Bibhography,"  covers 
the  field  of  mental  testing  with  references  complete  to  October,  1918.  Excellent 
bibliographies  will  be  found  also  in  William  Stearns'  "Psychological  Methods  of 
Testing  Intelligence"  and  in  G.  M.  Whipple's  "Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical 
Tests."  The  "Bibhography  of  Experimental  Studies  in  Physical  Growth,"  in 
Bird  T.  Baldwin's  "Physical  Growth  and  School  Progress,"  gives  an  exhaustive 
hst  of  titles  on  the  subject  of  physical  measurements  of  children. 

Crelle's  "Rechentafeln,"  Thorndike's  "Mental  and  Social  Measurements," 
and  "  Tables  for  Statisticians  and  Biometricians,"  edited  by  Karl  Pearson; 
together  with  tables  of  seven  place  logarithms,  slide  rules,  and  adding  and  calcu- 
ating  machines  have  been  used  as  aids  incomputation. 

FORMULA 

These  formula;  have  been  used  for  computation.  They  may  be  found  in 
somewhat  different  form  in  J.  Udney  Yule's  "An  Introduction  to  the  Theory  of 
Statistics,"  London:   Charles  Griffin  &  Co.,  1911. 

Mean  Probable  Error 

M=-S(x)  4= -6745 

w  Vn 

Standard  Deviation 


^4 


'^''-MK  -^.6745 


n  V2n 

Correlation  Coefficient 


n 

Txu  = 


-MxMy  iZl^.6745 

Vn 


axfJy 

Partial  Correlation  Coefficient 
Regression  Equation 


X  =  hxv+{Mx-hxvMy)Y=a-\-hxvY  ^i_J_^.6745 

6xi/=r-xi,^*;  a=Mx-hxvMv  ^  ^'v    5745 

Partial  Regression  Equation 
X  =a+bxy,zY  +bxz.vZ 

hxy.=r^/-^;    (r,.,=a.VF:7^  -^.6745 


,Vn 


O  =  Mx  —  hxy,tMy  —  bxt.yMz 

173 


174  METHODS  AND  RESULTS  OF 


INSTRUCTIONS   FOR   GIVING   AND   SCORING   YERKES   TESTS 
INCLUDED  IN  THE  MATURITY  SCALE* 

Resistance  of  Visual  Suggestion 

"The  materials  for  this  consists  of  six  pairs  of  lines.  In  each  case  the 
members  of  a  pair  are  separated  by  1  centimeter.  The  lines  are  approximately 
1  millimeter  in  width.  The  measurements  for  the  several  pairs  are  as  follows: 
Pair  (a),  left-hand  member  4  centimeters,  right-hand  member  5  centimeters; 
pair  (6),  5  centimeters  and  6  centimeters,  respectively;  pair  (c),  6  centimeters 
and  7  centimeters,  respectively;  pairs  {d),  (e),  (/),  7  centimeters  and  7  centimeters. 
The  lines  are  drawn  in  black  India  ink  on  white  cards,  with  a  separate  card  for 
each  pair. 

"As  the  experimenter  presents  the  Unes  of  pair  (a)  he  asks  'Which  is  the 
longer  of  these  two  Unes? '  He  notes  the  response,  preferably  remembering  rather 
than  stopping  to  record  it,  turns  immediately  to  pair  (6),  and  repeats  his  question. 
He  next  presents  pair  (c),  again  repeating  the  question  in  precisely  the  same  way. 
Without  needless  delay,  he  next  presents  the  lines  of  pair  (d),  changing  the  form  of 
question  to  'and  of  these?'  and  repeating  the  same  question  for  each  of  the  remaining 
pairs.  The  subject's  judgment  in  the  case  of  each  of  the  six  pairs  should  be 
recorded. 

"If  any  one  of  the  judgments  for  the  first  three  pairs  of  lines,  (a),  (6),  (c),  is 
incorrect,  no  credit  should  be  given  for  the  test.  If,  in  case  of  the  pairs  of  lines, 
(d),  (e),  (/)  the  subject  replies  that  the  left-hand  member  of  the  pair  instead  of 
the  right-hand  member  is  longer,  or  if  he  says  that  they  are  equal,  1  point 
credit  is  given  for  each  of  the  three  pairs.  That  is,  1  point  credit  is  given  for  each 
resistance  of  the  suggestion,  from  the  first  three  pairs  of  lines,  that  the  right-hand 
member  of  the  pair  is  the  longer." 

Test  15. — Comprehension  of  Questions 

"The  materials  for  this  test  are  the  following  four  questions,  each  of  which 
is  indicated  by  two  or  three  words  on  the  record  blank: 

"  (a)  If  you  were  going  away  and  missed  your  train,  what  would  you  do? 

"  (6)  If  someone  has  been  unkind  to  you  and  says  he  is  sorry,  what  would  you 
do? 

"(c)  Why  should  you  judge  a  person  by  what  he  does  rather  than  by  what 
he  says? 

"(d)  Why  do  we  more  readily  forgive  an  unkind  act  done  in  anger  than  one 
done  without  anger? 

"The  examiner  should  repeat  question  (a)  slowly  and  distinctly  twice,  and 
then  encourage  the  subject,  if  necessary,  to  make  some  reply.  The  answer 
should  be  recorded  on  the  record  blank  either  in  full  or  in  substance.  The  examiner 
should  in  like  manner  present  questions  (b),  (c),  and  (d). 

"Satisfactory  replies  are  as  follows:  (a)  'wait  for  the  next'  or  'take  an  electric 
car';  (b)  'forgive  him'  or  'pardon  him';  (c)  'because  one  is  more  sure  of  acts 
than  of  words'  or  'because  one  may  lie  in  what  he  says,  but  you're  sure  of  what 
he  does';    {d)    'an  angry  person  is  not  responsible  or  does  not  realize  what  he 

*A  Point  Scale  for  Measuring  Mental  Ability — Robert  M.  Yerkes,  James  W.  Bridges, 
Rose  S.  Hardwick:  Warwick  and  York,  1915. 


TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN  176 

does'  or  'an  act  done  in  anger  is  not  intentional.'  For  these,  or  answers  ex- 
pressing like  ideas,  full  credit  of  2  points  for  each  question  is  allowed. 

"For  less  comprehensive  and  intelligent  answers  such  as  (a)  'go  home,'  (b) 
'be  kind  to  him'  or  'do  nothing,'  (c)  'actions  speak  louder  than  words,'  partial 
credit  of  1  point  for  each  question  is  allowed." 

Test  16. — Drawing  Designs  from  Memory 

"The  two  Binet  designs  are  used  for  this  test.  The  examiner  should  say  to 
the  subject,  'I  am  going  to  show  j^ou  two  drawings.  After  you  have  looked  at 
them,  I  shall  take  them  away  and  ask  you  to  draw  both  of  them  from  memory. 
You  must  look  at  them  carefully  because  you  will  see  them  for  only  fifteen  seconds, 
and  that  is  a  very  short  time.'  "  [A  time  limit  of  10  instead  of  15  seconds  must 
be  used  in  giving  this  test  as  part  of  the  Maturity  Scale  since  that  was  the  limit 
used  in  this  investigation.    See  page  73. 

"The  examiner  then  presents  the  designs  in  the  orientation  indicated  by  the 
figure,  and  with  either  a  stop-watch  or  the  second-hand  of  an  ordinary  watch, 
determines  properly  the  interval  of  exposure.  The  subject  should  then  be  given 
the  opportunity,  immediately,  to  reproduce  the  designs  in  pencil  on  the  back  of 
the  record  sheet 

"Credit  of  2  points  is  given  for  each  correct  reproduction,  even  although  the 
lines  of  the  drawings  are  irregular.  For  imperfect  reproductions,  such  as  those 
in  which  the  rectangle  is  placed  in  the  center  of  the  prism  section,  or  the  small 
squares  of  the  other  design  turned  outward  instead  of  inward,  1  point  credit  is 
given.    No  credit  is  given  for  anything  poorer  than  the  above." 

Test  18. — Construction  of  Sentences 

"For  this  test  the  three  groups  of  words  which  follow  should  be  used.  The 
arrangement  and  spacing  is  important. 

(a)  to  asked            paper           my            I 

teacher  correct         the 

(6)  defends  a              his               dog 

master  good            bravely 

(c)  hour  for              we             early             at 

park  an               started              the 

These  three  groups  are  indicated  as  parts  (a),  (6),  and  (c)  of  the  test.  Each  group 
should  be  presented  on  a  separate  card. 

"The  order  is  important,  since  (a)  is  much  easier  than  either  (b)  or  (c),  and  (c) 
is  distinctly  more  difficult  than  (6). 

"The  examiner  should  say  to  the  subject,  'You  see  these  words.  Read  them 
to  me,  please.'  And  having  assured  himself  that  the  subject  recognizes  the  words, 
he  should  continue,  'Now  please  arrange  them  so  that  they  make  sen.«e.  Make 
one  good  sentence  out  of  them,  using  every  word  that  you  read,  but  no  other 
words.' 

"The  subject  should  be  allowed  only  three  minutes  of  actual  work  on  this 
test.    The  sentences  ar«  to  be  spoken,  not  written. 


176  TESTING  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

"The  most  natural  form  for  the  sentences  follows:  (a)  'I  asked  the  teacher 
to  correct  my  paper;'  (b)  'A  good  dog  defends  his  master  bravely;'  (c)  'We 
started  for  the  park  at  an  early  hour.'*  For  each  of  these  sentences,  credit  of  2 
points  is  allowed;  but  credit  should  be  allowed  also  for  other  sentences,  which, 
although  not  as  natural  to  the  adult  as  the  above,  still  make  perfect  sense  and  are 
unquestionably,  from  the  childish  standpoint,  perfectly  satisfactory.  Such,  for 
example,  are:  under  (a),  'I  asked  my  teacher  to  correct  the  paper;'  under  (b), 
'A  master  defends  his  good  dog  bravely;'  under  (c),  'We  started  early  for  an 
hour  at  the  park'  or  'We  started  for  the  park  at  an  early  hour.'  For  such 
sentences  full  credit  should  be  allowed,  and  for  any  others  including  all  of  the 
words  so  arranged  as  to  make  sense  and  to  convince  the  examiner  that  the  child 
both  understands  his  task  and  is  able  to  meet  all  except  the  requirements  of  con- 
ventional form  and  elegance  of  expression." 

Test  19. — Definitions  of  Abstkact  Terms 

"The  three  abstract  terms  (a)  charity,  (h)  obedience  and  (c)  justice  are  used. 

"The  examiner  should  say  simply,  'What  does  charity  mean?'  and  after 
recording  the  response,  'What  does  obedience  mean?'  and  so  on. 

"The  definition  of  charity  should  express  two  ideas,  that  of  unfortunates 
and  of  kindness  shown  to  them.  If  the  subject  replies  'love,'  ask  him  'what 
sort  of  love?'  or  'to  whom  is  the  love  shown?'  The  definition  of  obedience 
should  be  'to  do  what  you  are  told,'  or  something  similar.  If  the  subject  says 
'to  obey,'  ask  him  what  obey  means.  The  definition  of  justice  should  express 
the  idea  of  persons  being  treated  according  to  their  merits,  of  fairness,  or  of  pro- 
tection accorded  to  people,  and  their  interests.  If  the  subject  replies  'justice 
of  the  peace'  or  names  an  individual,  he  should  be  told  that  that  is  not  the 
kind  of  justice  meant  and  should  be  given  another  trial. 

"For  an  acceptable  response,  as  above  defined,  credit  of  2  points  is  given  in 
the  case  of  each  of  the  three  terms;  no  partial  credits  are  allowed." 

♦Seep.  73  for  variation  from  this  procedure  used  in  this  investigation. 


GENERAL  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA— BERKELEY 

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